A Quick Guide for Users

Getting started after a refill of the synchrotron.

1. Getting access to the station

To see if there is "USER BEAM", check the monitors situated round the lab. If the current (mA) and lifetime (hours) are displayed in green, you can get access to the station. It should also say "USER BEAM" at the bottom of the screen.

If the "DO NOT OPEN DOOR" sign is still illuminated, you need to ring the control room (x3560) and ask them to open the gate to beamline 11.

Once the light goes out, remove the key from the lockout box to the right of the gate, and use it to open the gate. The key is then left in the gate.

2. Opening the station to beam.

If you are ready to take beam, you can open the station valve and station absorber.

The port valve will already be open, since the SRS crew require this to be open to steer the electron beam correctly. The station valve may or may not be open, depending on when the beamline was last used. The illuminated signs on the wall above the microscope will show this.

You will need to open the station absorber (V11.ABSB.01), and the station valve (V11.VALV.02), if it is not already open. This is done using the control PC to the right of the microscope PC.

2.1 Opening V11.ABSB.01

Click on the icon in the beamline diagram showing V11.ABSB.01. This is to the right hand side of the "TVM VESSEL", below the tunnel roof. A dialogue box will ask if the beam has been steered - click on "YES"

The smaller window will now display the status of this absorber. One or more items may be highlighted in RED.

Click the following buttons in the small window:

RESET (the red highlights should disappear)

OPEN

There is no illuminated sign for this absorber in the station, and you will not hear it open. However, the icon on the display should turn green.

2.2 Opening V11.VALV.02

Click on the icon in the beamline diagram showing V11.VALV.02. This is directly above the tunnel roof.

The smaller window will now display the status of this valve. One or more items may be highlighted in RED.

Click the following buttons in the small window:

RESET (the red highlights should disappear)

OPEN

You should hear the valve open in the adjacent room. The sign on the wall above the microscope should illuminate, and the icon on the PC display should turn green.

 

Getting signal from the microscope

Open Omnic and Atlus

Ensure that a sample is in place and that the microscope is set up for reflectance or transmission, as required, and that the sample is in focus (also that the condenser is in focus for transmission measurements).

In Omnic, go to "Collect" > "Experiment Setup", and then go to the "Bench" window to see if there is an interferogram being displayed.

If there is no interferogram, but simply a noisy line across the display, go to the "Diagnostic" window and press "Reset Bench". This should give a signal.

If this does not work, or there is no signal at all displayed in the interferogram window, the bench (spectrometer) may need re-setting manually.

To re-set the bench manually, go to the far left corner of the bench. At the back is a panel containing several input and output sockets, and the mains input. In the top right corner of this panel is a reset button which must be pressed.

Restarting the software.

It may also be helpful to re-start the Omnic and Atlus software. To do this:

 

Possible problems

1. Interferogram displays noise but still no signal

Has the detector been cooled?

Is the sample in focus?

Is the IR objective correctly in place?

Has the SRS beam been lost (0.0 mA on display)?

2. V11.VALV.02 will not open

If pressing "reset" does not remove the red highlights from the "Station key removed" line, you may not have a valid Experimental Risk Assessment (ERA) lodged with the control room. The station key will therefore have been removed from the yellow box behind the station door. If you do have a valid ERA, and a copy is in the control room, you can go to the control room and ask for the beamline 11 Station Key. This is then inserted in the lock on the box and turned.

 

 3. Map points appear to be displaced on the image after the map has completed.

Go to "Experimental Setup", select "Mapping" from the tabbed panes at the top of the window, and within the Mapping page click on "Collect". This will generate a window where you must ensure the option "Store map with relative coordinates" is NOT selected.