areaDetector Andor driver

January 7, 2012

Matthew Pearson, Diamond Light Source

Mark Rivers, University of Chicago

Table of Contents

Introduction

This is an EPICS areaDetector driver for CCD and CMOS detectors from Andor Technology. It has been tested on the Andor iKon CCD cameras with USB interface, but should work with other cameras as well.

The driver currently provides the following features:

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 Andor class documentation describes this class in detail.

Implementation of standard driver parameters

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 are:
  • Internal
  • External
This has not yet been tested.
ADImageMode $(P)$(R)ImageMode
$(P)$(R)ImageMode_RBV
Sets the trigger mode for the detector. Options are:
  • Single
  • Multiple (accumulate)
  • Continuous (not supported yet)
ADNumImages $(P)$(R)NumImages
$(P)$(R)NumImages_RBV
Set the number of images to take in multiple (accumulate) mode
ADTemperature $(P)$(R)Temperature
$(P)$(R)Temperature_RBV
Set and read the operating temperature of the CCD (-120C to 20C)

Andor specific parameters

The Andor driver implements the following parameters in addition to those in asynNDArrayDriver.h and ADDriver.h.

Parameter Definitions in andorCCD.h and EPICS Record Definitions in andorCCD.template
Parameter index variable asyn interface Access Description drvInfo string EPICS record name EPICS record type
AndorCoolerParam asynInt32 R/W Turn the CCD cooler on and off ANDOR_COOLER AndorCooler
AndorCooler_RBV
bo
bi
AndorShutdownParam asynInt32 R/W Write a 1 to this PV to shutdown the CCD and the driver cleanly. This must be done before rebooting the IOC. ANDOR_SHUTDOWN AndorShutdown bo
AndorStartupParam asynInt32 R/W Write a 1 to this PV to reinitialize the Andor software. ANDOR_STARTUP AndorStartup bo
AndorImageModeAMultiParam asynInt32 R/W Selects the Andor imaging mode. Choices are:
  • Accumulate
  • Kinetics
  • Fast Kintetics
ANDOR_IMAGE_MODE_AM AndorImageMode mbbo
AndorACTInKineticsParam asynFloat64 R/W Accumulated cycle time in kinetics mode. ANDOR_ACT_KINETICS AndorACTInKinetics ao
AndorANumInKineticsParam asynInt32 R/W Number of accumulations in kinetics mode. ANDOR_ANUM_KINETICS AndorANumInKinetics ao
AndorFKHeightParam asynInt32 R/W Height of the region in Fast Kinetics mode. ANDOR_FK_HEIGHT AndorFKHeight ao
AndorFKHBinningParam asynInt32 R/W Horizontal binning of the region in Fast Kinetics mode. ANDOR_FKH_BINNING AndorFKHBinning ao
AndorFKVBinningParam asynInt32 R/W Vertical binning of the region in Fast Kinetics mode. ANDOR_FKV_BINNING AndorFKVBinning ao
AndorFKOffsetParam asynInt32 R/W Offset in Fast Kinetics mode. ANDOR_FK_OFFSET AndorFKOffset ao
AndorTempStatusMessage asynOctet R/O Temperature status message. ANDOR_TEMP_STAT AndorTempStatus_RBV waveform
AndorMessage asynOctet R/O Other status message. ANDOR_MESSAGE AndorMessage_RBV waveform
AndorShutterMode asynInt32 R/W Selects the Andor shutter mode. Choices are:
  • Auto
  • Open
ANDOR_SHUTTER_MODE AndorShutterMode mbbo
AndorShutterExTTL asynInt32 R/W Selects the TTL polarity of an external shutter. Choices are:
  • Low To Open
  • High To Open
ANDOR_SHUTTER_EXTTL AndorShutterExTTL bo
AndorFileFormat asynInt32 R/W Selects the file format for save files with the Andor driver. Choices are:
  • TIFF
  • BMP
  • SIF
  • EDF
  • RAW
  • TEXT
NOTE: Currently only TIFF is supported.
ANDOR_FILE_FORMAT AndorFileFormat mbbo
AndorPALFileName asynOctet R/W Path and Filename of pallette file (used for TIFF file colours) (255 chars max). ANDOR_PAL_FILE_PATH PALFilePath waveform
AndorAdcSpeed asynInt32 R/W Switch between the slow (low noise) ADC and the fast ADC. Choices are:
  • 0.05 MHz
  • 2.5 MHz
ANDOR_ADC_SPEED AndorADCSpeed
AndorADCSpeed_RBV
mbbo
mbbi

Usage

Always use channel access put callback when setting parameters.

If any of the parameters set are out of range or fail in some way, then the PV will be put into alarm state. This should be checked after every PV set.

An example palette file for a TIFF file is GREY.PAL in the iocAndor directory.

Andor CCD information and user manual

file:///dls_sw/work/R3.14.8.2/support/andorCCD/etc/private/iKon-M_Manual.pdf

file:///dls_sw/work/R3.14.8.2/support/andorCCD/etc/private/Software_Development_Kit_V2.81.pdf (for developers only)

Future plans