Russian Research Centre Kurchatov Research Articles

An automatic control system of the synchrotron station and special features of the experiment automation at the LANGMUIR station of the synchrotron radiation source of the RRC Kurchatov Institute

A universal software-hardware architecture of the automatic control system (ACS) of the X-ray experiment for synchrotron stations is designed. The designed ACS ensures the reliable long-time control of the station equipment from remote terminals located in safety zones. A hierarchical three-level architecture of the control system based on personal industrial computers and specialized microcontrollers is selected to realize the hardware part. Data channels are based on Ethernet, RS-485, and RS-232 interfaces. The ACS software embodies the functional-modular principle and contains monitor modules with parametric adjustment, group control modules of functional station blocks, and modules for individual control of mechanisms. Data exchange between the modules is supported by TCP/IP, DCON, and other standard communication protocols. When the control system was being designed, the possibility of expanding the system by embedding bought articles from leading manufacturers was without fail taken into account. The designed system allows its integration with automated experiment control systems. The work presents details of the designed ACS realization on the LANGMUIR multipurpose research technological system of the synchrotron radiation source of the Russian Research Centre (RRC) Kurchatov Institute, the Russian synchrotron station intended for studying interfaces of various nature by using a wide spectrum of precision surface-sensitive and spectrum-selective X-ray technologies, in particular, for studying organic and bioorganic nanosystems on liquid surfaces and various planar nanostructures on solid substrates. The specific character of the LANGMUIR station invited development of a unique software-hardware module for controlling optical elements deflecting the beam from the horizontal line (beam control module), and creation of a special software unit for integrating the fluorescence signal recording section into the ACS and synchronization of the X-ray and fluorescence sections.