Agilent
4288A Capacitance Meter
1 kHz/1 MHz
Data Sheet
This document contains specifications
and supplemental information about
Agilent’s 4288A capacitance meter.
2
Definitions
All specifications apply over a 0°C to 45°C range and
10 minutes after the instrument has been turned on,
unless otherwise stated.
Specification (spec.): Warranted performance.
Specifications include guardbands
to account for the expected
statistical performance
distribution, measurement
uncertainties, and changes
in performance due to
environomental conditions.
Supplemental information is intended to provide useful
information about the instrument, but is not covered by
the product warranty. The information is denoted as
typical, or nominal.
Typical (typ.): Expected performance of an
average unit which does not
incude guardbands.
Nominal (nom.): A general, descriptive term
that does not imply a level of
performance.
Basic specifications
Measurement parameters
• Cp-D, Cp-Q, Cp-Rp, Cp-G
• Cs-D, Cs-Q, Cs-Rs
Where,
Cp: Capacitance value measured using the parallel
equivalent circuit model
Cs: Capacitance value measured using the series
equivalent circuit model
D: Dissipation factor
Q: Quality factor (inverse of D)
G: Equivalent parallel conductance measured
using the parallel equivalent circuit model
Rp: Equivalent parallel resistance measured using
the parallel equivalent circuit model
Rs: Equivalent series resistance measured using the
series equivalent circuit model
Measurement signals
Table 1. Specifications of measurement signals
1 kHz
1 MHz
Frequency Allowable frequencies 0.99 MHz (1 MHz -1%)
1.01 MHz (1 MHz +1%)
1.02 MHz (1 MHz +2%)
Accuracy ± 0.02%
Range 0.1 V - 1.0 V
Level Resolution 0.1 V
Accuracy ± 5%
Measurement range:
20Ω (nominal)
Output Frequency: 100 pF - 100 nF
impedance 1 kHz Measurement range:
1Ω (nominal)
220 nF - 10µ F
Frequency: 1 MHz 20Ω (nominal)
Measurement cable length
0m, 1m, 2m
Measurement time modes
Short mode, long mode
For information on the measurement time in each mode,
refer to “Measurement time” on page 7.
Measurement range selection
Auto (auto range mode), manual (hold range mode)
Measurement range
Table 2. 1 kHz and 1 MHz measurement range
Measurement Measurement
signal frequency: 1 kHz signal frequency: 1 MHz
100 pF 220 pF 470 pF 1 pF 2.2 pF 4.7 pF
1 nF 2.2 nF 4.7 nF 10 pF 22 pF 47 pF
10 nF 22 nF 47 nF 100 pF 220 pF 470 pF
100 nF 220 nF 470 nF 1 nF
1 µF 2.2 µF 4.7 µF
10 µF
For information on measurable range in each
measurement mode, refer to “Available measurement
ranges” on this page and Tables 6 and 7 on page 4.
Averaging
Table 3. Averaging range and resolution
Range 1 - 256 measurements
Resolution 1
Trigger mode
Internal trigger (Int), manual trigger (Man),
external trigger (Ext), GPIB trigger (Bus)
Trigger delay time
Table 4. Range and resolution of trigger delay time
Range 0 - 1.000 s
Resolution 1 ms
3
Measurement display ranges
Table 5 shows the range of the measured value that can
be displayed on the screen.
Table 5. Allowable measured value display range
Parameter Measurement display range
Cs, Cp
- 99.9999 µF to - 0.00001 pF, 0,
0.00001 pF to 99.9999 µF
D
- 9.99999 to - 0.00001, 0,
0.00001 to 9.99999
Q
- 99999.9 to - 0.1, 0,
0.1 to 99999.9
Rs, Rp
- 999.999 MΩ to - 0.001 mΩ, 0,
0.001 mΩ to 999.999 MΩ
G
- 9.99999 kS to - 0.00001 µS, 0,
0.00001 µS to 9.99999 kS
∆%
- 999.999% to - 0.001%, 0,
0.001% to 999.999%
Available measurement ranges
Table 6 and 7 on page 4 show recommended measurement
ranges (recommendation for accurate measurement) and
significant measurement ranges (range that does not
cause overload) for each measurement range under the
condition D (dissipation factor) ≤ 0.5.
Accuracy of Cp, Cs, D, G, and Rs
Tables 10 and 11 on page 5, show the measurement
accuracy of Cp, Cs, D, G, and Rs when D ≤ 0.1. Note the
following when you calculate accuracy with these tables.
• The equation to calculate the accuracy varies
depending on the measurement time mode. In tables
10 and 11 on page 5, the upper equation is for the
short mode; the lower equation corresponds to the
long mode.
• Interpret your calculated accuracy as ± (percentage
of the measured value of an error) for Cp and Cs,
± (absolute value of an error) for D, G, and Rs.
When 0.1 < D ≤ 0.5, multiply the accuracy obtained from
Table 10 or Table 11 by the coefficient in Table 8 below.
Table 8. Coefficient caused by D value @ > 0.1, ≤ 0.5
Parameter Coefficient
Cp, Cs, G, Rs*
1
1 + D
2
D 1 + D
Accuracy of Q
The following equation is used to calculate the accuracy
of Q from the accuracy of D.
Equation 1. Equation to calculate Q
Qe =
±Qx
2
x
De
1 Qx xDe
Where, Qe is the accuracy of Q, De is the accuracy of D,
and Qx is the measured Q value.
Accuracy of Rp
The following equation is used to calculate the accuracy
of Rp from the accuracy of G.
Equation 2. Equation to calculate Rp
Rpe =
±Rpx
2
x
Ge
1 Rpx xGe
Where, Rpe is the accuracy of Rp, Ge is the accuracy of G,
and Rpx is the measured Rp value.
Accuracy when ambient temperature exceeds
the range between 18°C and 28°C (typical)
When the ambient temperature exceeds the range
between 18°C and 28°C, multiply the accuracy obtained
above by the coefficient shown in Table 9 below.
Table 9. Coefficient caused by ambient temparature
Coefficient
0°C ≤ ambient temperature < 8°C 3
8°C ≤ ambient temperature < 18°C 2
18°C ≤ ambient temperature ≤ 28°C 1
28°C < ambient temperature ≤ 38°C 2
38°C < ambient temperature ≤ 45°C 3
Table 6. Measurable capacitance range when measurement
frequency is 1 kHz
Measurement Recommended Significant
range measurement range measurement range
100 pF 68 pF - 150 pF 0 F - 150 pF
220 pF 150 pF - 330 pF 0 F - 330 pF
470 pF 330 pF - 680 pF 0 F - 680 pF
1 nF 680 pF - 1.5 nF 0 F - 1.5 nF
2.2 nF 1.5 nF - 3.3 nF 0 F - 3.3 nF
4.7 nF 3.3 nF - 6.8 nF 0 F - 6.8 nF
10 nF 6.8 nF - 15 nF 0 F - 15 nF
22 nF 15 nF - 33 nF 0 F - 33 nF
47 nF 33 nF - 68 nF 0 F - 68 nF
100 nF 68 nF - 150 nF 0 F - 150 nF
220 nF 150 nF - 330 nF 0 F - 330 nF
470 nF 330 nF - 680 nF 0 F - 680 nF
1 µF 680 nF - 1.5 µF 0 F - 1.5 µF
2.2 µF 1.5 µF - 3.3 µF 0 F - 3.3 µF
4.7 µF 3.3 µF - 6.8 µF 0 F - 6.8 µF
10 µF 6.8 µF - 20 µF 0 F - 20 µF
Table 7. Measurable capacitance range when measurement
frequency is 1 MHz
Measurement Recommended Significant
range measurement range measurement range
1 pF 680 fF - 1.5 pF 0 F - 1.5 pF
2.2 pF 1.5 pF - 3.3 pF 0 F - 3.3 pF
4.7 pF 3.3 pF - 6.8 pF 0 F - 6.8 pF
10 pF 6.8 pF - 15 pF 0 F - 15 pF
22 pF 15 pF - 33 pF 0 F - 33 pF
47 pF 33 pF - 68 pF 0 F - 68 pF
100 pF 68 pF - 150 pF 0 F - 150 pF
220 pF 150 pF - 330 pF 0 F - 330 pF
470 pF 330 pF - 680 pF 0 F - 680 pF
1 nF 680 pF - 1.5 nF 0 F - 1.5 nF
Measurement accuracy
Measurement accuracy is defined when all the following
conditions are met.
• Warm-up time: 10 minutes or longer
• Ambient temperature: 18°C - 28°C
• Execution of the OPEN compensation
• Measurement cable length: 0 m, 1m, or 2m (16048A/B/D)
• D (dissipation factor) ≤ 0.5
4
±
±
*1. If you select a secondary measurement parameter other than
D, calculate D.
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