Overview of devices

There are 21 different devices in lab that can be remotely controlled from the web GUI. Each device belongs to one of the 6 experiments or to a shared Vacuum section.

A list of all devices and a brief description of their functionality is presented below.

placement of the experiments in the laboratory

Fig. 1.: Map of the laboratory and the remote controlled experiments.

Exp. — Interferometry

Device

Type

Connection

Description

Motors

🔌

USB/Arduino

Manipulators for the microwave antenna and the object (e.g. glass pane).

Oscilloscope

📈

TCP/IP

RIGOL MSO5000, observes the output of the interferometer board.

Exp. — Langmuir Probes

Device

Type

Connection

Description

Motors

🔌

USB/Arduino

Manipulator for the discharge electrodes and probes. Also can open the pumping valve.

Power Supply

🔌

USB/Arduino

Power supply used to generate plasma between the electrodes.

Source Meter KI2400

📈

USB/RS-232

Multimeter combined with power source to observe the probes’ I-V characteristic.

Exp. — Magnetic Field

Device

Type

Connection

Description

Motors

🔌

USB/Arduino

Manipulator that controls position of the wire and position of the mobile probe.

Magnetic Probes

📈

USB/Arduino

Observe the magnetic field by measuring raw & integrated current in coils.

Switch for PS

🔌

USB/Arduino

Switch that turns on the power supply units.

PS Wire

🔌

USB/RS-232

Power supply that controls the current in the main wire.

PS Helmholtz Coils

🔌

USB/RS-232

Power supply that controls the current in the Helmholtz coils.

Exp. — Paschen

Device

Type

Connection

Description

Motorized electrodes

🔌

USB/CAN

Manipulator that controls the position of the top electrode. Also switches on/off a power outlet and can open the pumping valve.

Power Supply

🔌

USB/GPIB

High voltage power supply (5kV) connected to the electrodes. Can detect when a discharge was ignited.

Exp. — Resonance Cavity

Device

Type

Connection

Description

Wave Generator

🔌

USB/Arduino

Control the microwave generator power output. Also can open the pumping valve.

Spectrum Analyser RIGOL DSA800

📈

TCP/IP

Observe the frequency spectrum in the resonance cavity.

Exp. — Magnetic Trap

Device

Type

Connection

Description

Coils and Valve

📈

USB/Arduino

Measure the magnetic field induced by the coils and their temperature. Also switches on/off the power supply for the coils.

PS Coils

🔌

USB/RS-232

Power supply that controls the current in the coils to generate the magnetic field.

Cathode Heater

🔌

USB/Arduino

Heater unit that controls the rate of electron emission by heating the cathode.

HV Supply

🔌

USB/Arduino

High voltage power supply that controls the energy of electrons by applying voltage to the cathode.

Langmuir Probe

📈

USB/Arduino

Measure an I-V characteristic of a Langmuir probe.

Vacuum

Device

Type

Connection

Description

Valve Board

🔌

I2C, SPI

Manage the connection paths between gas reservoirs and vacuum chambers using a cascade of valves. See the schematics in Fig. 2 below.

Gauge Controller

📈

TCP/IP

Observe and log the pressure in each of the vacuum chambers.

schematics of the valve board

Fig. 2.: Schematics of the valve board and the naming convention for the valves. (Click on the figure to zoom in.)