Spectrum 10 Support

PE Spectrum 10 Support

Click here for related material Click here for sample files

Click here for a program which ends stuck Sp10.exe processes

PerkinElmer's Spectrum Version 10 software imports/exports FTIR settings as XML files with .set extension (different from previous .set files). This upgrades the previous Spectrum Express which lacked the ability to export and import settings. Spectrum 10 works with all PE FTIR after Spectrum GX. (A point of confusion is that 'Spectrum' refers to instruments as well as software.)

The most recent model is Spectrum Frontier (Optica) which supersedes Spectrum 100 which in turn replaced Spectrum One. Be careful to specify the MEASURE (Scantraq) server corresponding to software revision, not machine name! Currently, Spectrum Frontier (Optica) and Spectrum Two are shipped with Spectrum 10 software.

Spectrum 10 Server installation

Integration with FilmStar MEASURE (Scantraq) is through Spectrum 10 Server: Sp10.exe. While the server typically runs as a background task, it also runs standalone for testing purposes. Users export one or more .set files (typically one for transmission and another for reflectance) in Spectrum 10. These are then opened by Spectrum Server via File..Open. Click File..Review to verify. Sp10.exe requires you to install Chilkat's free XML library. Use this version.

PerkinElmer Lambda 10 FTIR Suppot
.set viewer displays instrument settings
updated by the Spectrum 10 Server;
other settings remain at default values.

Three settings are user-settable via Setup..Parameters or BASIC: number of scans and wavenumber min, max. Recommended practice: specify the entire instrument range in wavenumbers, say 500 to 10000 and rely on MEASURE to convert to the required µm or nm range.

A Data Viewer dialog lets users review the spectrum. F9 toggles between µm and 1/cm scales. The server can be run from other Windows applications as illustrated by Excel workbook Spectrum10.xlsm.

In actual use from MEASURE, BASIC Control Macros (Scan Method 3/5) communicate with the Sp10 server. A similar VBA program can be utilized in Excel without MEASURE. The main difference in an Excel VBA version would be code to transfer xDat() and yDat() to worksheet cells.

Option Explicit
Option Base 1
Dim FTIR As FtgSp10.clsDAQ

Sub Main
    Dim k%, xDat!(), yDat!()
    Const SAMPLE = 0
    Set FTIR = New FtgSp10.clsDAQ
    ' Optional Parameters override Setup..Method dialog
    FTIR.Parameters "T", "C:\Setup\SP10.set", , , 5, "C:\Stds\Silicon.csv"
    FTIR.Scan SAMPLE
    FTIR.GetSample xDat(), yDat()
    Spectrum_X = xDat
    Spectrum_Y = yDat
    MainActivate
End Sub

A typical Scan Method 3/5 dialog is shown below.

The names of the BASIC files are saved with the Scan Method (.scw). That presents a reliability issue since .bas files can be modified, thereby altering the method. To prevent modifications, click Edit.. Embed Code to embed BASIC code directly into the Scan Method.

Now click Edit.. Edit Macro to examine and possibly modify the Control Macro. In this case the code has been compacted with comments and spaces removed.

The optional Parameters subroutine overrides the Scan Method settings shown below. For instruments utilized only in transmittance, there may be no reason to modify settings. In that case the Standard file name is replaced by numeric value 1.0.

Recommended practice: specify the entire instrument range in wavenumbers, say 500 to 10000 and rely on MEASURE to convert to the required µm or nm range.

Sub OpenSettings(Optional file$)...Open .set file. If file$ not specified, then user is prompted

Sub GetEnergy(x!(), y!())...Get energy spectrum (λ in nm). Use after Scan 2.

Sub GetEnergyCM(x!(), y!())...Get energy spectrum (λ in 1/cm). Use after Scan 2.

Sub GetSample(x!(), y!())...Get sample spectrum (λ in nm). Use after Scan 0.

Sub GetSampleCM(x!(), y!())...Get sample spectrum (λ in 1/cm). Use after Scan 0.

Property Get IsVisible()...Returns True if server screen is visible

Sub Parameters(Optional sType$, Optional sFile$, Optional wMin!, Optional wMax!, Optional Scans%, Optional Std$ = "1.0", Optional wInt! = 1)...sType$ = "R" or "T", sFile$ is .set file name, wMin/wMax/wInt scan range, Scans% number of scans, Std$ standard file name with path or numeric value (typically "1.0" for transmittance)

Sub Quit()...Unload hidden copy of Sp10.exe

Sub Scan(Mode%)...Perform scan; 0 = Sample, 1 = Background, 2 = Energy (raw data)

Property TestMode() as Boolean...Get or set Test Mode.

Back to Technical Issues