Abstract
In an effort to upgrade and provide a unified and improved instrument control and data acquisition system for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) instrument suite—biological small-angle neutron scattering instrument (Bio-SANS), the extended q-range small-angle neutron scattering diffractometer (EQ-SANS), the general-purpose small-angle neutron scattering diffractometer (GP-SANS)—beamline scientists and developers teamed up and worked closely together to design and develop a new system. We began with an in-depth analysis of user needs and requirements, covering all perspectives of control and data acquisition based on previous usage data and user feedback. Our design and implementation were guided by the principles from the latest user experience and design research and based on effective practices from our previous projects. In this article, we share details of our design process as well as prominent features of the new instrument control and data acquisition system. The new system provides a sophisticated Q-Range Planner to help scientists and users plan and execute instrument configurations easily and efficiently. The system also provides different user operation interfaces, such as wizard-type tool Panel Scan, a Scripting Tool based on Python Language, and Table Scan, all of which are tailored to different user needs. The new system further captures all the metadata to enable post-experiment data reduction and possibly automatic reduction and provides users with enhanced live displays and additional feedback at the run time. We hope our results will serve as a good example for developing a user-friendly instrument control and data acquisition system at large user facilities.
Highlights
Bio-Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and general-purpose small-angle neutron scattering diffractometer (GP-SANS), both located at high flux isotope rector (HFIR), were served by a customized graphic user interface (GUI) extension based on the Spectrometer Instrument Control Environment (SPICE) software built on LabView [3]
Within the user needs and requirements scope identified earlier, built on the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) system architecture (Figure 3), we developed and delivered a distributed instrument control and data acquisition systems (IC-DASs) customized for the spallation neutron source (SNS) and HFIR SANS instruments
This system is built on the abundant base of EPICS drivers that interface with different items of physical hardware, such as motors, temperature controllers, and magnets
Summary
The SANS instrument suite at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) neutron scattering facilities—including the biological small-angle neutron scattering instrument (Bio-SANS), the general-purpose small-angle neutron scattering diffractometer (GP-SANS), and the extended q-range smallangle neutron scattering diffractometer (EQ-SANS)—serve many different research communities, including biology, soft matter, quantum materials, and metallurgy [1]. The three instruments are custom-developed and built with similar yet different components at two different neutron sources, the spallation neutron source (SNS) and the high flux isotope rector (HFIR) at ORNL. There is considerable overlap in their user bases, who use multiple instruments for different experimental needs, such as specific performance or sample environment equipment needs. Bio-SANS and GP-SANS, both located at HFIR, were served by a customized graphic user interface (GUI) extension based on the Spectrometer Instrument Control Environment (SPICE) software built on LabView [3]
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