+ Andor3.adl
+
+ This is an EPICS + areaDetector driver for CMOS detectors from + Andor Technology. It has been tested on the Andor Neo sCMOS camera with + 3-tap Camera Link interface, but should work with other cameras (e.g. Zyla) as well. + The driver is supported on 32-bit and 64- bit Linux and 32-bit and 64-bit Windows. The driver + is called "Andor3" because it is built with Version 3 of the Andor Software Development Kit (SDK). + This version of the SDK is required to work with the Andor sCMOS cameras, and currently does not + work with the Andor CCD cameras.
++ The driver provides access to essentially all of the features of the Andor sCMOS cameras:
++ This driver inherits from ADDriver. + It implements many of the parameters in + asynNDArrayDriver.h and in + ADArrayDriver.h. It also implements a number of parameters that are specific + to the Andor detectors. The + andor3 class documentation describes this class in detail.
++ This document does not attempt to explain the meaning of the Andor-specific parameters. + The Andor Software Development + Kit documentation provides this detailed information, and the reader is referred + to that document. +
+The Andor3 SDK is very well designed. Camera parameters (e.g. exposure time, binning) are called + "features". Features can be integer, float, bool, string, or enum. + Each feature can be queried to determine if it is implemented on the current detector. + In addition:
+The areaDetector driver uses these features. All of the enum menus are built dynamically at iocInit, + they are not preset in the template file. This ensures that the enum choices match the actual capabilities + of the current camera. Whenever an integer or float parameter is changed it is checked + to ensure it is within the current valid bounds for that feature. The feature callback is used to + ensure that the current EPICS readback value of that parameter matches the actual camera value, without + requiring the driver to poll.
+ + ++ The following table describes how the Andor driver implements some of the standard + driver parameters. +
+| + Implementation of Parameters in asynNDArrayDriver.h and ADDriver.h, and EPICS Record + Definitions in ADBase.template and NDFile.template | +||
| + Parameter index variable | ++ EPICS record name | ++ Description | +
|---|---|---|
| + ADTriggerMode | +
+ $(P)$(R)TriggerMode + $(P)$(R)TriggerMode_RBV |
+
+ Sets the trigger mode for the detector. Options for the Neo are:
+
|
+
| + ADImageMode | +
+ $(P)$(R)ImageMode + $(P)$(R)ImageMode_RBV |
+
+ Sets the image mode for the detector. Options are:
+
|
+
| + ADNumExposures | +
+ $(P)$(R)NumExposures + $(P)$(R)NumExposures_RBV |
+ + Sets the number of accumulations per image. This is performed in Andor's driver, not on the chip. | +
| + ADNumImages | +
+ $(P)$(R)NumImages + $(P)$(R)NumImages_RBV |
+ + Sets the number of images to take when ImageMode=Fixed. | +
| + ADAcquirePeriod | +
+ $(P)$(R)AcquirePeriod + $(P)$(R)AcquirePeriod_RBV |
+ + Sets the FrameRate (=1./AcquirePeriod). The FrameRate can also be set directly. The minimum + AcquirePeriod (maximum FrameRate) depends on a number of other parameters, including the + A3Binning, SizeX, SizeY, ReadoutRate, A3ShutterMode, PixelEncoding, and Overlap. | +
| + NDDataType | +
+ $(P)$(R)DataType + $(P)$(R)DataType_RBV |
+
+ The data type for the image data. Allowed values are:
+
|
+
| + ADTemperature | +
+ $(P)$(R)Temperature + $(P)$(R)Temperature_RBV |
+ + Sets the setpoint temperature of the camera. | +
| + ADTemperatureActual | ++ $(P)$(R)TemperatureActual | ++ Reads the actual temperature of the camera. | +
+ The Andor driver implements the following parameters in addition to those in asynNDArrayDriver.h + and ADDriver.h. +
+| + Parameter Definitions in andor3.cpp and EPICS Record Definitions in andor3.template + | +||||||
| + Parameter index variable | ++ asyn interface | ++ Access | ++ Description | ++ drvInfo string | ++ EPICS record name | ++ EPICS record type | +
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| + Version information + | +||||||
| + Andor3SerialNumber | ++ asynOctet | ++ R/O | ++ Camera serial number | ++ A3_SERIAL_NUMBER | ++ SerialNumber | ++ stringin | +
| + Andor3FirmwareVersion | ++ asynOctet | ++ R/O | ++ Camera firmware version | ++ A3_FIRMWARE_VERSION | ++ FirmwareVersion | ++ stringin | +
| + Andor3SoftwareVersion | ++ asynOctet | ++ R/O | ++ SDK software version | ++ A3_SOFTWARE_VERSION | ++ SoftwareVersion | ++ stringin | +
| + Andor3ControllerID | ++ asynOctet | ++ R/O | ++ Camera controller ID | ++ A3_CONTROLLER_ID | ++ ControllerID | ++ stringin | +
| + Cooling control and status + | +||||||
| + Andor3SensorCooling | ++ asynInt32 | ++ R/W | ++ Turn the sensor cooler on and off | ++ A3_SENSOR_COOLING | +
+ SensorCooling + SensorCooling_RBV |
+
+ bo + bi |
+
| + Andor3TempStatus | ++ asynInt32 | ++ R/O | +
+ Temperature status. Values and strings on the Neo are:
+
|
+ + A3_TEMP_STATUS | ++ TempStatus_RBV | ++ mbbi | +
| + Andor3TempControl | ++ asynInt32 | ++ R/W | +
+ Temperature setpoint value in degrees C. On the cooled cameras (e.g. Neo) the temperature is set
+ to discrete values, rather than continuously with the Temperature record, because the firmware
+ does pixel corrections for specific temperatures. Choices on the Neo are:
+
|
+ + A3_TEMP_CONTROL | +
+ TempControl + TempControl_RBV |
+
+ mbbo + mbbi |
+
| + Andor3FanSpeed | ++ asynInt32 | ++ R/W | +
+ Fan speed. Choices on the Neo are:
+
|
+ + A3_FAN_SPEED | +
+ FanSpeed + FanSpeed_RBV |
+
+ mbbo + mbbi |
+
| + Readout control and status + | +||||||
| + Andor3ShutterMode | ++ asynInt32 | ++ R/W | +
+ Selects the shutter mode. Choices for the Neo are:
+
|
+ + A3_SHUTTER_MODE | +
+ A3ShutterMode + A3ShutterMode_RBV |
+
+ mbbo + mbbi |
+
| + Andor3FrameRate | ++ asynFloat64 | ++ R/W | +
+ Frame rate. This is the reciprocal of ADAcquirePeriod, and is the units used to control
+ the Andor cameras. There are two limitations on the frame rate:
+
|
+ + A3_FRAME_RATE | +
+ FrameRate + FrameRate_RBV |
+
+ ao + ai |
+
| + Andor3TransferRate | ++ asynFloat64 | ++ R/O | ++ The maximum transfer rate in frames/s of the interface (e.g. CameraLink card). This is the maximum + sustained FrameRate which can be achieved. + | ++ A3_TRANSFER_RATE | ++ TransferRate | ++ ai | +
| + Andor3PreAmpGain | ++ asynInt32 | ++ R/W | +
+ Controls the pre-amp gain and readout mode. Choices for the Neo are:
+
|
+ + A3_PRE_AMP_GAIN | +
+ PreAmpGain + PreAmpGain_RBV |
+
+ mbbo + mbbi |
+
| + Andor3PixelEncoding | ++ asynInt32 | ++ R/W | +
+ Controls the pixel encoding. Choices for the Neo are:
+
|
+ + A3_PIXEL_ENCODING | +
+ PixelEncoding + PixelEncoding_RBV |
+
+ mbbo + mbbi |
+
| + Andor3ReadoutRate | ++ asynInt32 | ++ R/W | +
+ Controls the ADC readout rate. Choices for the Neo are:
+
|
+ + A3_READOUT_RATE | +
+ ReadoutRate + ReadoutRate_RBV |
+
+ mbbo + mbbi |
+
| + Andor3ReadoutTime | ++ asynFloat64 | ++ R/O | ++ The readout time from the sensor into camera RAM. + | ++ A3_READOUT_TIME | ++ ReadoutTime | ++ ai | +
| + Andor3Overlap | ++ asynInt32 | ++ R/W | ++ Controls whether acquisition and readout are overlapped. Choices are 0 (No) and 1 (Yes). + On the Neo if Overlap=Yes then the minimum exposure time is limited to about 10 ms. If + Overlap=No then the minimum exposure time is 9 microseconds. + | ++ A3_OVERLAP | +
+ Overlap + Overlap_RBV |
+
+ bo + bi |
+
| + Andor3NoiseFilter | ++ asynInt32 | ++ R/W | ++ Controls whether the firmware applies the Spurious Noise Filter. Choices are 0 (No) and 1 (Yes). + | ++ A3_NOISE_FILTER | +
+ NoiseFilter + NoiseFilter_RBV |
+
+ bo + bi |
+
| + Trigger control + | +||||||
| + Andor3SoftwareTrigger | ++ asynInt32 | ++ R/W | ++ Writing 1 to this record generates a software trigger if TriggerMode=Software. + | ++ A3_SOFTWARE_TRIGGER | ++ SoftwareTrigger | ++ bo | +
| + Area-Of-Interest (AOI) Control + | +||||||
| + Andor3FullAOIControl | ++ asynInt32 | ++ R/O | ++ Indicates whether this camera supports full AOI control. This is Yes for the Neo. + | ++ A3_FULL_AOI_CONTROL | ++ FullAOIControl | ++ bi | +
| + Andor3Binning | ++ asynInt32 | ++ R/W | +
+ Controls the binning. The binning on the sCMOS camera is done in firmware and only certain preset
+ values are allowed. Choices for the Neo are:
+
|
+ + A3_BINNING | +
+ A3Binning + A3Binning_RBV |
+
+ mbbo + mbbi |
+
+ ColorMode, ReverseX, and ReverseY are currently not supported.
++ If any of the parameters set are out of range the driver will set them to the minimum or maximum + allowed value for that parameter. The _RBV value will indicate the actual value in effect. +
++ The Andor3 driver is created with the andor3Config command, either from C/C++ or + from the EPICS IOC shell.
+int andor3Config(const char *portName, int cameraId, + int maxBuffers, size_t maxMemory, + int priority, int stackSize, int maxFrames) ++
+ For details on the meaning of the parameters to this function refer to the detailed + documentation on the andor3Config function in the + andor3.cpp documentation and in the documentation for the constructor + for the andor3 class. The maxFrames parameter controls + the number of frame buffers the driver queues to the SDK when acquiring data. The default value is 10. + Increasing this number will allow the SDK to transfer images from the camera at the full interface speed + even when the driver is not reading them that quickly. + This will help to prevent frames from filling the camera RAM when operating close + to the maximum interface transfer rate (=TransferRate). +
++ There an example IOC boot directory and startup script (iocBoot/iocAndor3/st.cmd) + provided with areaDetector. +
++ The following shows the MEDM screen that is used to control the Andor detector. + Note that the general purpose screen ADBase.adl can be used, but it exposes a few + controls that are not applicable to the Andor, and lacks some fields that are important + for the Andor.
+
+ Andor3.adl is the main screen used to control the Andor driver.
+
+ Selecting 3x3 binning will crash the driver. Hopefully this will be fixed in the next version of the SDK.
+ +