Automation and Software Development

 

Based on the experience of DREEBIT engineers in controlling ion beam facilities, DREEBIT offers the development of automation and control hardware and software. To give an overview of the possibilities for remote controlled setups the user interface of an Ion Irradiation Facility-L is presented in the following.

 

Main Facility Control Window

The user interface of the control software contains a main window schematically showing the facility components as well as the set values and the status of each component. In addition to the component information the pressure in each beamline section as well as information about the cooling water and air pressure status is given.

Measurement Control Panel

Next to simply controlling the ion source and other beamline components, completely automated measurements can be carried out. For example, the magnetic field of a dipole analyzing magnet can be scanned while the ion beam current on a faraday cup is read out in correspondence to the values of the magnetic induction bending the beam. Thus, a scan of the delivered spectrum of ions from the attached ion source can be carried out. Due to the automated source and vacuum supervision running in the background, the operator can leave the facility to work on other tasks and does not have to be present while a long-term scan is running.

Data Logger

Especially for high-precision experiments and applications, it is important to keep track of the source and facility parameters at all times during operation. This can be achieved by an automated data logging procedure in the background which saves selected parameters into log files.

Vacuum Control Panel

The control software allows to display the status of all valves, gauges, and pumps. Automated vacuum and vent procedures follow a dened sequence which includes all required safety precautions to protect the facility components. For example, the operation of gate valves between beamline sections is part of the control software and they can be opened only if the respective beamline sections are in the same state (either evacuated or vented).

For optimization of vent and vacuum procedures each beamline section can be individually controlled in the vacuum control panel by authorized personnel which is secured by a password. Valves, pumps, or gauges can be opened and closed or switched on and off by an authorized operator by clicking on the respective symbols. This function should only be used by experienced personnel to avoid damage to the facility.