Control Software
BeamLine
In brief
The software is running on the MSB-SLAVE computer and it controls the position and angles of the
prefocusing mirror. The most important movements are:
-
J1 (vertical direction; roll) to be set to the maximum intensity passing through the entrance slit (because it is horizontal).
-
J2 (horizontal direction; pitch) to be set to put the photon beam to the center of the exit slit (best alignment of the whole beamline).
The positions are set using the
Command line using the syntax
move j1 value or
move j2 value followed by Enter or
Send button.
If the movement gets blocked click on
Stop button.
If the MSB-SLAVE computer is stuck reboot it by reset button. The BeamLine software will start automatically after the reboot.
For instructions see
Setting the beam position.
Further details
Originally this software controlled both
prefocusing mirror and
monochromator, i.e. the whole beamline, therefore some of the features are not active anymore (
PM/
PG and related).
Other controlled movements of the prefocusing mirror are
Z1/
Z2 (heights) and
PAL/
PAU (polarization apertures lower/upper). The command syntax is the same as for
J1/
J2.
All movements of the
prefocusing mirror are controlled by servomotors and the position reported in the BeamLine software comes from the incremental rotary encoders (IRC305 manufactured by
LARM). Moreover, each movement has 3 optical sensors defining 2 end stops (limits) and 1 reference mark. Status is as following:
-
red color: encoder failure
-
L/H: movement is at low//high limit
-
–/R: movement is below/above the reference mark
-
percentage of the maximum power on the motor
The software accepts commands from the MSB-MASTER computer via serial port. Therefore all commands can be send also from
Kleopatra console or
PrefocusConsole in the
Kleopatra sofware. This communication is visible in
Serial connection input/output fields.
Lists of all accepted commands can be downloaded here for
local console and
remote console.
Beamline Control System (BCS)
In brief
The BCS provides a webpage interface which can be accessed from all computers connected to the Elettra network at
http://adam.elettra.eu/projects/blcs/beamwatch/061/msb_main.bwh. It shows the current electron beam parameters, layout of the beamline, status of the valves (green = closed,
red = open) and pressures in the vacuum chambers.
Moreover, opening the webpage on the MSB-MASTER and MSB-STATION computers permitis to operate the 10 electropneumatic valves labelled with numbers in the screenshot above.
The most useful information and valve operations are mirrored into the
Kleopatra software.
For instructions see
Opening and closing the beamline.
If the webpage does not open proceed with
Troubleshooting - BCS communication problem.
Further details
The webpage automatically refreshes every 40 seconds. If you need to refresh the information immediately user the
FORCE REFRESH link or the Reload button of your web browser.
Logging system contains changes in every parameter or status.
Color coding of the beamline elements is:
-
green: normal operation
-
yellow: warning but still safe
-
red: failure or risk
-
blue: communication error, and therefore status unknown
The pressures are read from the gauge controllers in the front-end rack and the left beamline rack. Bear in mind that the displayed gauge in the
analysis chamber is the coarse
cold-cathode and NOT the precise
ionization gauge that we read in the experimental rack, so the readings might differ.
Other information that is available on the webpage:
-
status of the water cooling circuits of the prefocusing mirror, entrance slit and monochromator (plain mirror + plane grating) by clicking on the Water system link): normal flux, not much flux or no flux
-
status of the ion pumps by clicking on the corresponding vacuum chambers as read from the corresponding power supplies in the front-end and 2 beamline racks.
Any parameter available on the BCS webpage can be logged and graphically displayed using the
Pressure Watcher software (e.g. pressure in the
monochromator or in the
analysis chamber).
Mesh Monitor
In brief
This software acquires the data from the 8-channel A/D converter card (National Instruments PCI-6023E) installed in the MSB-MASTER computer. It displays the trend of the data in its graphical user interface and it forwards them to the
Kleopatra software. We mostly use only channel 2 where the amplified photoelectric current from the
gold mesh placed in the beam line is connected. The resulting number reflects the photon flux that serves for intensity calibration.
The reading is averaged over 1 second period. On the graph there are also tags on every photon energy change and the value averaged since the last tuning up to the following one. The displayed history is as long as selected by
View last button. The graph can be also manipulated by mouse as following:
-
zoom by left-click dragging from top left to bottom right
-
unzoom by left-click dragging from right to left
-
pan by right-click dragging
For instructions see
Photoemission with synchrotron radiation (EDC).
Further details
The A/D converter range is ± 10 V.
The channel 5 is usually used for reading the current measured by the Keithley picoampermeter that can be e.g. sample current during total-electron-yield NEXAFS or
photodiode current for beamline calibration.
The software controls are as following:
subtract offset values defined in the .ini file
start acquision
stop acquisition
clear acquired values
|
save acquired values into an ASCII file
oscilloscope on the selected channel
show energy tags
show averaged value tags
|
show custom tags
start new averaging
stop averaging
add new custom tag
|
Commands for remote control are written in
About/Help.
Kleopatra
In brief
Kleopatra running on the MSB-MASTER computer is handling the communication between the
beamline and the
end station. The most important user operations are highlighted in the screenshot above, namely opening and closing the electropneumatic valves, setting the photon energy and reading the mesh current.
Further details
Kleopatra is the central control software of the beamline, as can be seen in the following schemes:
The layout of the main Kleopatra window is shown here:
Connect and
Disconnect buttons handle the connection to all other programs listed in the scheme.
Scans button will be described
below.
MonoConsole and
PrefocusConsole provide consoles for communication with the
monochromator (
MONO Server on the MSB-MONO computer) and
prefocusing mirror (
BeamLine software on the MSB-SLAVE computer), respectively.
ComServerLog and
TcpServerLog show communication with
SpecsLab2 and
KolXPD, both on the MSB-STATION computer.
The
Prefocus section of Kleopatra shows the
J1 (
roll) and
J2 (
pitch) positions of the
prefocusing mirror.
AutoRoll button provides a procedure for automatic setting of
J1 (
roll) to the maximum of the photon flux, as described in
Setting the beam position.
Kleopatra console section provides a simple console for basic commands for all related instruments. Kleopatra automatically forwards the command to the correct software and shows its
Answer. The commands are:
parameter |
get value |
set value |
software |
note |
time |
gettime |
– |
Kleopatra |
MSB-MASTER computer time |
J1 |
getj1 |
move j1 value |
BeamLine
(+ other
commands
available) |
prefocus roll |
J2 |
getj2 |
move j2 value |
prefocus pitch |
PAU |
getpau |
move pau value |
prefocus polarization aperture upper |
PAL |
getpal |
move pal value |
prefocus polarization aperture lower |
Z1 |
getz1 |
move z1 value |
prefocus height 1 |
Z2 |
getz2 |
move z2 value |
prefocus height 2 |
state |
getstate |
– |
MONO Server |
monochromator status |
energy |
getenergy |
setenergy value |
monochromator energy |
cff |
getcff |
setcff value |
monochromator cff |
PM |
getpm |
setpm value |
monochromator plain mirror |
PG |
getpg |
setpg value |
monochromator plane grating |
mc |
getmc |
– |
Mesh Monitor |
mesh current |
p1 |
getp1 |
– |
BCS |
shutter pressure |
p2 |
getp2 |
– |
prefocus presure |
p3 |
getp3 |
– |
monochromator pressure |
p4 |
getp4 |
– |
analysis chamber pressure |
The
SnapShots section of Kleopatra allows to log the parameters from the table above into the selected
File, either on each press of the
Make SnapShot button or
Cyclically with the time period set in the .ini file.
All features related to the
monochromator are in the
Energy section. Namely
Nominal Cff (which will be used for tuning), real
Cff (calculated from the position of PM and PG), actual photon energy,
position of PM and PG in
microradians and
counts on the
encoders, status of the PM and PG axes (still/
moving, reaching forward/reverse
limit switches, position at the
index mark and
collision of PM with PG detected by the collision switch). Below one can refresh the values from the
MONO Server software (
Reload once or
Cyclical reload),
Copy the actual positions of energy, PM and PG into the corresponding fields, move the monochromator to the chosen position (
setEnergy for both PM and PG,
setPM or
setPG) and
STOP all movements in the case of wrong or risky setting.
The
MeshMonitor section contains the
measured or
averaged outputs of the 8 channels of the A/D converter card (numbered
0 to
7) provided by the
Mesh Monitor software. Mesh current (
mc) from channel 2 is shown with larger font. Doubleclick on this field will maximize the view of photon energy, mc and information from the
BCS.
In the
BCS Info section some of the parameters from the
BCS are shown, refreshed every 40 seconds. Namely the status of the 10 electropneumatic valves of the front-end and of the beamline, storage ring electron beam current, energy and lifetime, and the 4 pressures
p1-
p4 from the table above. Hovering above any item will display its description. Doubleclick will open the corresponding subpage of
BCS, in the case of valves with the possibility to open/close them.

|
Color coding of the valves
valve open and can be closed
valve closed and can be open
valve closed and cannot be open because of control room interlock
status unknown (wait for information to be refreshed) or BCS failure
|
Color coding of other items
-
green: normal operation
-
yellow: warning but still safe
-
red: failure or risk
-
blue: communication error, and therefore status unknown
|
The bottom line of Kleopatra shows status of the connected services and their communication.
Scans
This feature allows to perform a
time-,
energy-,
PM-,
PG-,
PAU-,
PAL-,
J1-,
J2-,
Z1- or
Z2 scan of the
8 channels of the A/D converter card (averaged over
200 ms or
1 s time) while logging also some other parameters obtained from
BCS.
Range From -
To,
Step and
Pause after each acquired data point can be set. The selected parameters are
Shown in the graph below. All parameters are automatically saved in the folder D:\Users\Libra\Mono\Kleopatra\Scans under a filename containg the actual date and time. Typically it is used for an energy scan of the photon flux measured by a
photodiode, see the
result.
VNC to MASTER
As the
beamline (mainly monochromator, and the electropneumatic valves) is mostly operated from the MSB-MASTER computer while the
end station from the MSB-STATION computer, it would not be comfortable to move physically from one computer to another. Therefore the MSB-MASTER computer can be operated from the MSB-STATION computer using VNC (Virtual Network Computing) client providing a sort of remote desktop.
SpecsLab2
In brief
This software serves for photoemission data acquisition and it was developed by
Specs, the manufacturer of the
electron energy analyzer. We use it for
sample alignment and for recording the energy distribution curves (EDCs) of photoelectrons excited by
X-ray source and
synchrotron radiation. For photoemission measurements of larger datasets where the
photon energy is equidistantly scanned or where the
sample manipulator is automatically moved we use the
KolXPD software.
Further details
Complete software manual is available
here.
KolXPD
In brief
This software was developed by
Jiří Libra. The basic features include those available in
SpecsLab2 but, in addition, it contains modules for automated data acquisition during
photon energy equidistant scans (XAS, CIS, NEXAFS, RPES) scans and
angular scans of the sample manipulator (ARPES, XPD). Moreover, we use it also for advanced processing of the EDC
XPS/
SRXPS data acquired in
SpecsLab2.
Further details
The complete software manual of KolXPD does not exist yet. A partial version is available
here. Quick Users Guide written by Igor Píš can be downloaded
here. Useful information can be found on the
product website, too.
Eurotherm iTools
In brief
This software pernits to control the Eurtherm 3508 unit that is used for measuring the sample temperature during
annealing or
cooling and control the power supply used for sample
annealing.
The most important features are labelled in the screenshot above
-
Connect the software to the unit: Scan - OK. The device Sample.192-168-16-10-502-ID002-3508 will appear in the list of devices and synchronized in about 1 minute.
-
Display the Device panel. You can then push the buttons in the software equally to the physical unit.
-
Change units between °C and K: in the parameter tree on the left side look for Instrument - Options - Units, change to DegC or Kelvin and confirm.
(The units can be changed also by hardware buttons.)
-
Display the temperature trend: open OPC Scope, then File - Open - T.UIX and confirm.

-
Program the annealing sequence: open Programmer and add/remove/modify segments.

For operating the program see Sample annealing.
-
Disconnect the software: close iTools.
Further details
The complete software manual is available
here. The manual of the Eurotherm 3508 unit is
here.
Quadstar
In brief
Quadstar
Measure is the software confrolling the
quadrupole mass spectrometer.
The menu
Setup -
SEM/Emission Control allows to switch on/off the filament (
Emission) and the multiplier high voltage (
SEM) if the pressure is sufficiently low:
The most frequently used scan is started in the menu by
Scan -
Analog and opening the parameter file
SCAF.SAP for Faraday cup detector (high pressures) or
SCAC.SAP for the multiplier (low pressures):
Linear or
Logaritmic intensity scale can be chosen by
Parameters -
Setup:
Scan parameter are then chosen in
Parameters -
Channel. The most important ones are mass range (
Mass) and intensity range (
Display -
Disp. F.S.R.):
The scans can be saved using
File -
Save cycle data into .sac files. These files can be open in another software
Dispsav (
Open data) and
Converted to ASCII .asc files that can be then imported into common spreadsheet software like Excel, Origin or Igor.
Further details
Complete software manual is available
here.
KolLEED
In brief
KolLEED is used for acquisition and saving of LEED patterns acquired by a CCD camera (EHD KamPro02) and digitalized using the framegrabber card (NI PCI-1407).
Further details
The software is written in LabView. Its controls are as following:
Browser card:

Pictures on row affects the thumbnails number.
Smart/Inverse/Color defines the image view.
Folder where the images will be loaded or saved.
Load folder with all its contains.
Save selected image into the folder.
Clear browser clears the list below.
Save with palette saves the images with the actual palette, otherwise in grayscale.
Analyze selected image allows some spot analysis.
|
Acquire card:

Snap acquires one single snapshot from the camera.
Grab/Stop starts/stops continuous acquisition.
Smart/Inverse/Color defines the image view.
1-10 selector affects the contrast.
Averaging averages the number of consecutive acquired imager over the Avg Length which reduces noise but slows down the view.
Get background acquires the actual images and subtracts it from all images acquired after that.
Clear background cancels the background subtraction.
Add To Browser saves the image into the browser; these images will appear in the list below as <untitled_> where they can be browsed, deleted or saved into files.
|
Pressure Watcher
In brief
This software logs and graphically displays values available through
BCS webpage, most typically pressure of the
cold-cathode gauge in the
analysis chamber. The reading happens in the specified time
Interval [s] (minimum is 5 seconds). The logged data can be
Cleared and
Saved in ASCII format. The total
Exposure calculated in langmuirs (1 L = 10
-6 Torr × s) is shown.
The graph can be manipulated by mouse as following:
-
zoom by left-click dragging from top left to bottom right
-
unzoom by left-click dragging from right to left
-
pan by right-click dragging
For a typical use see
Exposing the sample with gases.
Further details
The software can be used for logging any values available on webpages, as defined in the
Settings. These settings can be stored in .ini files (
Save settings) and loaded when needed (
Load settings).
For calibration of the calculation of the total exposure the read pressure values can be lowered by the set
Base pressure [Torr] and multiplied by the
Multiplicative constant.
Pfeiffer Vacuum ActiveLine

This software is used for displaying and logging the pressures shown on the TPG366 controller in the left experimental rack. The six channels represent:
-
Analysis chamber (cold cathode gauge)
-
Preparation chamber - top (full range gauge)
-
Preparation chamber - bottom (cold cathode gauge)
-
Load lock (full range gauge)
-
Electrochemical cell - UHV and nitrogen (full range gauge)
-
Electrochemical cell - argon (capacitance gauge)
The software is connected to the instrument by using
Data Transmission -
Serial Port -
COM10 for the
TPG366 controller. Then the measurement is started by
Data Transmission -
Start measuring. Logging of the data into a file is then started by
Data -
Save.
CompactConnect
In brief
This software reads and logs the temperature acquired by
infrared pyrometers and also help to align the sample using the integrated camera.
Further details
manuals

:
pyrometers,
software
LuCam Capture
In brief
This software displays the image from the USB camera Teledyne/Lumenera Lu205CB that can be installed on the viewport of the electron analyzer, in order to help the proper
sample alignment.
MSB-MONO Server and Client
In brief
This software controls the position of the optical elements of the monochromator. plain mirror (PM} and plain grating (PG). Server is performing all operations while Client provides graphical user interface.
Energy and cff can be set from the window opened by clicking on the
Energy button in the client:
The position of both axes can be controlled from the Direct Axis Control window opened by clicking on the
Axis button in the client. As units you can choose counts on the position encoder or angle in microradians:
The
Find Index subwindow is used for finding the reference marks if the monochromator appears to be
miscalibrated and for unblocking the collision switch if the optical elements are in mutual
collision (that can happen e.g. when
setting very low photon energies).
For these service operations the Service Mode must be selected by clicking by clicking on the
Config -
Mode button in the client.
If the monochromator keeps appearing miscalibrated although the reference marks are ok a calibration must be performed. Usually only one parameter is to be modified,
Axis 1 Offset, count. Enter a modified value, click on
Set and then
Save Parameters.
Further details
Complete manual of the monochromator and the related software is available
here.
Last Updated on Thursday, 25 March 2021 11:33