Acquisition¶
The acquisition window is where you control the instrument and record data. Open it by creating a run (+ New Run) or by cloning an existing one.
Instrument controls¶
The Instrument tab groups the hardware controls:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Light source | Selects the illumination path, for example Dark-field or MIR galvo scanner |
| Wavenumber | Tunes the quantum cascade laser to one wavenumber (cm⁻¹) |
| Rate, Coadds, Frame rate | Pulse rate (kHz), the number of frames averaged per capture, and the capture frame rate |
| Stage X / Y | Moves the sample stage in micrometres |
| Stage Z (focus) | Moves the focus axis |
Simulated instrument
The backend currently runs a simulated laser and detector. They produce synthetic 512 × 640 frames, so every control and the full data path behave as they would with hardware. Support for real hardware is added on the backend, behind the same LaserController interface.
Scan modes¶
Choose the mode from the sub-tabs under Acquisition:
Single : Holds the laser at one wavelength. Use Capture frame to grab a frame, or let the live view run while you focus and position the sample.
Hyper (hyperspectral) : Sweeps from Start to End in steps of Step, capturing one frame per wavelength. The result is a full spectral cube.
Discrete (sparse wavelength) : Captures only the wavelengths you list under Wavelengths. Use it when you already know which absorption bands matter. It is much faster than a full sweep.
Click Record to start and Stop to end early. Before recording, the app checks that:
- the storage path is writable
- at least 500 MB of disk space is free
- the white/dark reference files exist, if you have set any
- the ROI bounds are valid
Live view¶
- Frames stream to the viewer over a live event connection as they are captured.
- Hold Shift and move the mouse over the image to plot the spectral profile at the cursor.
- Choose a Colormap and adjust contrast from the plotting controls.
- Capture frame grabs one frame at the selected band. Capture all grabs one frame at every wavelength in the current plan.
- The Frames tab lists every captured frame. Select some and click Rebuild Cube from selected to build a cube from just those.
Job queue¶
Longer operations, such as scans, cube builds and batch jobs, appear in the Job queue. Click Retry on a failed job, or Clear completed to tidy the list.
Remote scanning¶
Remote Scanning in the left sidebar connects the app to another QCLM backend, for example the instrument PC in the lab, and streams its live acquisition events into a Session Monitoring log. Enter the remote Server URL and click Connect. The remote backend must be reachable on the network; see Using a shared lab server.