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Starting the IOC Panels

  • TMO: /cds/group/pcds/epics/ioc/common/andorCam/R0.4.0/children/build/iocBoot/ioc-tmo-andor1/edm-ioc-tmo-andor1.cmd
  • RIX: /cds/group/pcds/epics/ioc/common/andorCam/R0.4.0/children/build/iocBoot/ioc-rix-dir-andor/edm-ioc-rix-dir-andor.cmd

Slow Full-Frame Tuning vs. 120Hz Full Vertical Binning with DAQ

Many experiments tune the position of the beam on the camera with a slow full-frame image then, after tuning is complete, run fast 120Hz data acquisition in "full vertical binning" (FVB) mode.  To do this, we recommend that users use the IOC's "python viewer" for the full-frame viewing/tuning (without running the DAQ) then switch to FVB for 120Hz DAQ operation.

The steps below refer to two IOC panels.  Here are two screen shots of a working Andor.  The first image is the main panel, and the second image is a "detail" subpanel.  It is accessed from the lower box labelled "NewtonD0940P" on the middle-left of the main panel:

  

Slow Full-Frame tuning vs. 120Hz Full Vertical Binning procedure (IMPORTANT: do not switch between full-frame/FVB modes without stopping the camera from acquiring, as detailed in these steps. that can cause the camera software to hang):

  • start the appropriate IOC panels (see below for command) on tmo-daq or rix-daq
  • end the DAQ run if one is in progress
  • click "Stop" in the IOC window to stop the Andor acquiring.  This is done in the "Image Collection" area in the middle-right of the main panel
  • switch to full-frame mode by setting "Readout Mode" to "Image" in the middle of the "detail" sub panel
  • click start in the IOC window to start the Andor in full-frame mode.  ensure "Cam Trig Event Code" (middle right of main panel) and "Exposure Time" (top right of main panel) are set appropriately (typically event code 120 when beam is going to the soft X-ray line).  Setting exposure time too long will interfere with 120Hz operation.
  • open the "python viewer" at the top of the main panel
  • tune beam position on camera
  • when done tuning click "Stop" in the "Image Collection" area in the middle-right of the main panel
  • in the middle of the "detail" subpanel set "Readout Mode" to "FVB" (full-vertical binning)
  • click "Start" in the main panel middle-right to start the Andor acquiring in FVB mode
  • Verify that "Capture Rate" in the "Image Collection" section of the main panel is what you expect
  • start a DAQ run
  • check for damage from the Andor in the DAQ-monitoring grafana window: psdaq#DAQMonitoring

Running in 90x90 "Crop" Mode

From Dan Damiani on 06/23/21.

NOTE: when changing running modes, always disable acquisition by hitting the "Stop" button in the "Image Collection" section of the main IOC window, then "Start" after all changes have been made.

The PV for turning this mode on/off is: RIX:DIR:CAM:01:AndorIsolatedCropMode

  • Click "Stop" in the "Image Collection" section of the main IOC window
  • Make sure the "Readout Mode" (middle of the IOC sub panel) in the "Collect" section is set to "Image" and NOT "FVB" (full vertical binning)
  • caput RIX:DIR:CAM:01:AndorIsolatedCropMode Enable
  • Set the roi to 90x90 on the main screen in the "Acquisition Settings" section (other settings may work at lower rates. need to ask Dan).
    • NOTE: I don't understand why, but I appear to have to enter the "Y" region size before I enter the "X" region size.
  • Set the "Cam Trig Event Code" to the appropriate value in the "Timestamps" section of the main IOC window
  • Click "Start" in the "image Collection" section of the main IOC window
  • Verify that "Capture Rate" in the "Image Collection" section of the main IOC panel is what you expect

Reverse the above steps to go back to normal Andor running mode.

A screenshot of the camera running at 120Hz in this mode is here:

rixx43518 run 327 is a short run taken with the Andor running at 120Hz in 90x90 crop mode.  Here is an image from AMI:

Miscellaneous Thoughts on running the Newton Camera

(courtesy of Dan Damiani)

  • Camera "Software Development Kit" (SDK) manual can be found here: Andor CCD
  • Do not set the exposure time to 5 ms: 2ms is the max exposure time for 120 hz, it takes 5+ ms for the readout so you are dropping every other event (with autocorrect at 120Hz).  A too-large setting will be seen in the main IOC panel with the "sync status" oscillating between locked/unlocked.
  • Also they have the evr delay set to zero, but with a large enough window that might be okay
    • Looks like the last time they ran the VLS at SXR the evr delay was 0.00085 s and the width was 1e-5 seconds
  • The IOC shutter settings do not matter: they are only to control an external shutter (which we don't have in TMO)
  • you can also try to experiment with toggling TMO:VLS:CAM:01:AndorKeepClean to see what effect that has (use Stop-Acquire before changing this setting).  use the pvget/pvput commands to modify the value.
  • use the "python viewer" at the top of the IOC screen to view images.  the edm viewer is broken.
  • we recommend tuning the full-frame image without running the DAQ using the python-viewer, then putting the camera into Full Vertical Binning (FVB) mode using the IOC window for 120Hz line-out running
  • the event code set in the IOC window should match the event code used in the DAQ readout group (in the "timing" system configuration).
  • ioc "autosave" files can be found here: /cds/data/iocData/ioc-tmo-andor1/autosave/. (you can look at the various autoSettings.sav* files)

  • As far as I can tell there are only a few PVs that actually matter for the temp:
    TMO:VLS:CAM:01:Temperature_RBV # readback of the actual setpoint temp. I am not sure this one works
    TMO:VLS:CAM:01:Temperature # get/put the temperature setpoint (edited) 

    # turn on/off the cooling
    TMO:VLS:CAM:01:AndorCooler
    # readback the on/off state
    TMO:VLS:CAM:01:AndorCooler_RBV
    # string "status" message about the cooling state
    TMO:VLS:CAM:01:AndorTempStatus_RBV
  • TMO:VLS:CAM:01:TemperatureActual is supposedly the temperature readback

A picture of the IOC screens when the camera is working in full-frame mode:

Single-Photon Mode Thoughts

From an email thread with RIX scientists on July 9, 2021:

Executive summary: now that you’ve set the preamp gain to 4 (we think you did that today, following Matt’s advice) we think you’re running with the same settings we used for sxrx30416 run 83, as best we can tell.  Note that the manual describes an EM (electron-multiplying) gain setting that is useful for single photon counting that we never used in LCLS1.
Details: Dan and I looked at the settings from sxrx30416 run 83 vs. the current running.  These are the settings we had:

In [2]: andorconfig.highCapacity()
Out[2]: 0

(This is Alex’s question in his most recent message) This is not settable in the IOC, but Dan looked and it defaults to 0 now, which we think is right (highCapacity=1 corresponds to large dynamic range, which you don’t want for single-photon regime)

In [3]: andorconfig.readoutSpeedIndex()
Out[3]: 0

This corresponds to 3MHz which is what you are running now, and it is correct: this increases the readout speed so we can run at 120Hz, but also increases noise.

In [4]: andorconfig.gainIndex()
Out[4]: 2

This “gain enum index” corresponds to the factor 4 you have just set (today) for the highest preamp gain, as Matt suggested.

The only other feature you can consider trying in the future is the EM (electron-multiplying) gain.  This feels to us like it comes before the preamp and creates an electron-avalanche controlled by a voltage.  It was never used in LCLS1, but the manual talks quite a bit about using it for single-photon counting.  We don’t have experience with it, so there may be a learning curve, but it looks like it is intended specifically for low signals.  A warning:  the manual talks about “premature aging” of the camera if the signals get too large in EM Gain mode.

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