Scantraq Spectrophotometer Software controls and acquires data from PerkinElmer, Varian, Agilent (HP) and Ocean Optics instruments. Scantraq provides a powerful, flexible and well-supported alternative to the spectroscopy software supplied by instrument manufacturers.

The instruments listed below are currently supported. Scantraq users can run all; i.e. there is no additional charge for running a Lambda 900 and Cary 500 from the same computer. Please contact us for information about other models. All versions support Summagraphics SummaSketch tablets for digitizing strip-charts.
 

Agilent 8453

Varian Cary 4000

PerkinElmer Lambda 900

PerkinElmer Spectrum One

Ocean Optics

Perkin-Elmer 983

Scantraq Main Screen

Scantraq Advantages

With its built-in Development System Scantraq enables rapid and economical implementation of spectroscopy-based solutions. Scantraq offers numerous advantages:

• The same user-interface for different instruments. 
• No additional charge for different instruments.
• Ability to develop turnkey applications and control other devices.
• Highly compatible with GRAMS software
• Built-in CIE color analysis, custom calculations
• Object-level Microsoft Office integration

PE Lambda 900 Settings

PE 983G Settings

PE Spectrum GX (2000) Settings

Instrument Settings

Scan methods are edited in Scantraq and uploaded as required. While the application software supplied by spectrophotometer manufacturers is not run during Scantraq operation, there are cases where manufacturer's system software is utilized:

• PE's Spectrum software is required for BX (1000) and GX (2000) initialization and setup. Configurations are stored as Setup Files (.set ). The name of the setup file is subsequently specified in Scantraq. Since Scantraq can change scan range, only a few Setup Files are required in practice.
• Varian's WinUV is required for Cary 1-5 (100-500) operation. Only a minimum installation (Cary System + Scan application) is needed.
• PE's UV Winlab 5.1 is required for Lambda 650-950 operation with URA (Universal Reflectance Accessory).

PerkinElmer Lambda 18/19 is supported on Windows 2000/XP via a new PCI board and custom cable (contact us for details). The older Lambda 19 ISA board requires Windows 95/98 and an older computer (~400MHz). The Agilent 8453 version supports NI and HP IEEE-488 cards.

Need someone to service older PE instruments? We suggest you contact Mono Instruments.

8453 Lamp Intensity Test

8453 Diagnostic Capabilities

The Agilent (HP) 8453 version of Scantraq adds diagnostic capabilities. This reduces or eliminates the need to use ChemStation software for diagnostic purposes. 

Program Modes

Scantraq supports absorbance, 'V' and 'VW' reflectance modes. Wavelength units include Angstroms, nm, microns, and 1/cm. Data file types: Sample, Baseline (blocked sample beam, usually 0%), Reference (open sample beam, usually 100%), and 'NIST' Standard files. Data files may be loaded from disk, scanned or replaced by constants as appropriate. For ease of use Baseline, Reference, and Standard spectra need not have the same wavelength spacing as Sample data. During data acquisition results are plotted on-screen in spectrophotometer units (0-100%); final reduced values are displayed in physical units.

Scan Range

Scan Range is defined by three wavelength or wavenumber values: minimum, maximum and interval. In addition a Wave (length/number) List can be specified. The Wave List is useful for spectra with differing characteristics in different bands, i.e. blocking in two regions and transmission in another. The Wave List is also useful for devices whose specifications are defined at particular laser wavelengths. Infrared instruments which actually scan in wavenumbers (1/cm) can appear to scan in wavelength (nm or microns).

Spectra Format Options

Spectra Data Format

There are three formats for measured data files:

1. .csv, comma-separated values, may be loaded directly into Excel
2. .dx, J-CAMP spectroscopy format
3. .spc, Galactic Industries GRAMS format

Development Modules

Going beyond its friendly Windows point and click interface, Scantraq includes programmable development modules for automation, user-defined procedures, calculations, graphs and reports. The optional Scantraq Database provides industry-standard (MS Access-compatible) database technology including SQL.

The Film Thickness Module enables users to quickly and automatically obtain film thickness in cases where films are thick enough to display fringes. Fringe counting and FFT algorithms are available. Applications include lacquers and similar coatings. While film index must be known with reasonable accuracy, the substrate index is not required. A calibration routine compensates for any resulting errors. The program is intended as an industrial tool and runs standalone or as ActiveX client or server. It includes Scantraq BASIC and can run Scantraq or be run from Scantraq. It can be used directly with our Ocean Optics or Zeiss ActiveX servers. It provides smoothing algorithms for dealing with noisy spectra. A free 16-bit version of the program is available. This lacks any automation features.

A paper Film Thickness of 'Thick Thin Films' by Spectroscopy (129K) presented at the SVC 1998 meeting in Boston can be downloaded and printed.