Control system

Aida is controlled by an autonomous microcomputer which in turn accepts and executes commands from the controlling PC. We chose this solution in order to make the time critical processes of revolution measurement and cell multiplexing independent of a windows based computer.

The Omega Device contains a fast converter that transposes the Hall sensor output to TTL signals which are then processed by a primitive computer. The latter measures the duration of revolutions in a precision of 100 ns. The current speed is transmitted to the operating software three times a second for precise recording of the runtime integral. The Omega Device flashes the light source at a given angular position. A reduced image of the strobed cell is continuously displayed by the operating software. When a scan is taken, the camera is prompted to acquire a full resolution image which is written to disk. When an image file is created, the Fourier transform module will read the image and transform it into an interference scan in Beckman legacy format.

The Omega device will take all electronic connections; it contains power supply for the light source and is designed to operate a second detection system synchronously. Read more about the omega device in the section on Multiwavelength Absorbance optics.

Omega device photograph
Figure 1: Nanolytics Instruments omega device, measurement and control unit.