Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 2 WARRANTY The Gentec-EO MACH 6 Meter carries a one-year warranty (from date of shipment) against material and/or workmanship defects, when used under normal operating conditions. The warranty does not cover damages related to battery leakage or misuse. Gentec-EO Inc. will repair or replace, at Gentec-EO Inc.’s option, any MACH 6 that proves to be defective during the warranty period, except in the case of product misuse.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 3 SAFETY INFORMATION Do not use the MACH 6 if the device or the detector looks damaged, or if you suspect that the MACH 6 is not operating properly. Appropriate installation must be done for water-cooled and fan-cooled detectors. Refer to the specific instructions for more information. Wait a few minutes before handling the detectors after power is applied. Surfaces of the detectors get very hot and there is a risk of injury if they are not allowed to cool down.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 4 Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 5 Installing the Software...................................................................................................... 6 Power Source ..................................................................................................................... 8 Probe Connection ...................................................
Mach 6 User’s Manual 7.8.2 Revision 2.1 5 Dismantling procedure: .................................................................................... 46 Introduction The Mach 6 is an advanced high speed energy meter capable of measuring up to 200,000 pulses per second. It is used with the Mach 6 Applications Software, which creates a full featured data acquisition system for measuring and displaying laser energy.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 Figure 2, Mach 6 Back Panel Installing the Software Do not plug the Mach 6 into your PC yet. Step 1, Installing the Applications Software. 1. Insert the installation CD. The installation will start automatically. If it does not, browse to the setup.exe file on the CD and run it. 2. The Welcome to the GENTEC-EO Mach 6 Installation Wizard will open. Select Next. 3. The Select Destination Folder dialog box will open.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 7 6. Leave the CD in your PC as the USB drivers are located on the disk and are needed for step 2. Step 2, Installing the USB Drivers 1. Connect the Mach 6 to your PC with the supplied USB cable. 2. Connect the power supply and turn on the Mach 6. 3. The Found New Hardware Wizard will run. If the Windows Update prompt appears, select No, not this time and press Next. 4. When the Install from CD appears, select Install Software Automatically and press Next. 5.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 8 The software installation is now complete. You may now run the application software. The software will wait until it finds a Mach 6 instrument on the USB before it becomes functional. If the Mach 6 is disconnected from the USB or turned off, the software will return to the wait state until the Mach 6 is on the USB again. Power Source The Mach 6 system is supplied with a 10V, 1.5A universal power module.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 9 The Armed LED illuminated when the unit has been armed for data collection. Note that the unit can be armed even if no triggers are present. The Out of Range LED illuminates when the internal ADC detects a voltage outside of its measurement range. This LED is only updated when the unit is armed and triggered. The Buffer Full LED illuminates when the internal pulse memory is full. USB The Mach 6 communicates with the host PC via a USB port.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 10 Range LED. Should either of these conditions occur, contact GENTEC-EO for service of the unit. The Applications Software The Mach 6 Application Software consists of controls and indicators on 6 display tabs: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The Instrument Controls Display. The Strip Chart Display. The Histogram Display. The Statistics Display. The FFT Display. The Probe Data Display The desired display is selected by clicking on the appropriate tab.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 11 Figure 3, Instrument Controls Display The main controls for the instrument are below the display tabs. They are: Range Sets the instrument to the desired range. Note that the available ranges are dependant on the sensor responsivity. Since the sensor responsivity varies with wavelength, turning Wavelength Compensation on may cause a rescale of the available ranges. If this occurs, the instrument will set itself to the same currently set range if it is still available.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 12 Trigger Polarity Sets the trigger edge polarity for the external trigger pulse. Positive triggers on the rising edge of the trigger pulse, negative triggers on the falling edge of the trigger pulse. Trigger Delay This is the delay of the trigger pulse. If used with external trigger, the timing relationship between the external trigger pulse and the laser firing event can be accounted for by setting the delay appropriately. The range is -938ns to +2480ns.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 13 Read 2, pulse offset = 500,001, number of pulses to retrieve = 500,000 Read 3, pulse offset = 1,000,001, number of pulses to retrieve = 500,000 Read 4, pulse offset = 1,500,001, number of pulses to retrieve = 500,000 The response of the application to large pulse batches will depend on the host PC. A test machine with a 2.66GHz dual core processor and 3GB of memory retrieved 500,000 pulses to a data file in 7.9 seconds. The retrieval to the display took 20.9 seconds.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 14 With internal triggering, if the pulse is below the trigger level, no trigger will occur, but the period timer will still be running. This means that the period will be longer between the pulses adjacent to the missing pulses. The applications software examines the pulse data for this condition and records the time stamps where the period is discontinuous.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 15 1s 68.27% 2s 95.450% 3s 99.7300% 4s 99.993666% 5s 99.99994267% 6s 99.9999998027% Move to Next Display Moves the Tab Control to the next Display Tab. There are four LED indicators for the instrument above the display tabs. They are: The Over temp LED illuminates when the measure probe temperature exceeds 65°C. This LED is only updated when the unit is armed and triggered.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 16 with wavelength, turning Wavelength Compensation on may cause a rescale of the available ranges. If this occurs, the instrument will set itself to the same currently set range if it is still available. If it is not, the instrument will set itself to the next available range. Trigger Level Tracking Turns Trigger Level Tracking On. This applies to Internal Trigger Mode only.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 17 Pulse Energy (in Joules), Time Stamp (in Seconds), Probe Temperature (in degrees Celsius), and Error Flag The Error flag is decoded as follows: 0 = no errors in batch. 1 = out of range error for one or more pulses in batch. 2 = over temp error for one or more pulses in batch. 3 = out of range and over temp errors for one or more pulses in batch. Read to Display Sets the target for any pulses read from instrument memory to the application displays.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 18 Calls a display of measured data sampled at a 10Hz rate. Calling the display side affects: Range, Trigger Level, Trigger Source, Trigger Polarity, and Trigger Delay as these parameters are controllable from the Live Mode Display VI. The data may be logged to a file for later analysis. Note that the statistics displayed are being performed on the data set. To reset and start a new batch of statistics, press the Clear Plot button.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 19 The Life Test Display Run Life Test The Life Tests Vi will start a test at a desired time; measure the desired number of pulses at a desired interval, until the desired stop time is reached. Each test in the sequence is stored in an auto incrementing file. Each test sets min, mean, and max is plotted on a strip chart for quick reference. When the test is started, it will prompt for a file name.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 20 The Controls are: Start Test Starts the test with the selected parameters for Start Time, Stop Time, and Test Interval. Start Using Current Time Starts the test immediately and calculates the Stop Time from the Current Time, Number of Tests, and Test Interval. Abort Test Aborts the currently running test sequence. Any test files that have been taken prior to the abort will be saved. Exit Test Exits the Life test VI and returns to the main application.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 21 The Number of pulses to measure when the instrument is armed. The measured pulse batch data will be written to the test file. Note that the first pulse in the batch after an arm is always discarded by the Mach 6. (See the Measuring Data Section) If the laser is free running, this will not be an issue. If the laser is in burst mode, then be sure to set the batch size to 1 less than the burst size. Test Interval How often to measure a batch.
Mach 6 User’s Manual 22 Revision 2.1 The selected stats will be stored, comma separated. The last value stored will always be the Error Flags for the data set. An error flag is decoded as follows: 0 = no errors in batch. 1 = out of range error for one or more pulses in batch. 2 = over temp error for one or more pulses in batch. 3 = out of range and over temp errors for one or more pulses in batch.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 23 The current status of the running test sequence. Data File The last data file that was written to. Statistics Strip Chart A running display of the data sets statistics, as well as any error conditions in the current data set. The chart may be auto scaled, but the auto scale will not occur until a new data set is plotted. Also included are the range and trigger status of the instrument during the test. These parameters cannot be changed during a life test.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 24 Recalls a saved instrument setup. Statistics Colors Calls a VI that allows custom colors to be set for the Statistics indicators. These colors are persistent until changed by the user. File Path The path and name of the currently open data file. USB Active Illuminates whenever the application detects a Mach 6 instrument has been plugged into the USB.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 25 initializes the GUI and the instrument based on the instrument setup and the probe in use. When the initialization is complete, this LED illuminates. The Applications Software Menu Menu Items There are 2 menus on the applications software, File, and Help. The File Menu has 5sub items: Open Data File, Copy Data File to Displays, Copy Display Data to File, Close Data File, and Exit. Open Data file opens a saved data file.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 26 Figure 4, Strip Chart Display The functions of the controls or indicators are: Energy Plot A strip chart of the retrieved data set, if the target has been set to display, or if a data file has been copied into the displays. The trend (slope) of the data is also plotted. Variation Variation is defined as (Max - Min) / Mean. Trend Slope The slope of the data trend line. Auto Scale Auto Scales the Y axis of the strip chart.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 27 Places a cursor on the minimum value and its time stamp on the strip chart. Place Cursor on Max Places a cursor on the maximum value and its time stamp on the strip chart. Place Cursors on Standard Deviation Places cursors on the Standard Deviation, plus and minus, from the mean on the strip chart Missing Pulse Time Stamps With internal triggering, if the pulse is below the trigger level, no trigger will occur, but the period timer will still be running.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 28 Min The minimum pulse energy in the data set. Max The maximum pulse energy in the data set. Mean The mean pulse energy in the data set. Spread Spread is defined as: (max - min) / (max + min) Standard Deviation The standard deviation of the pulse energy in the data set. This can be interpreted as the RMS noise. Standard Deviation and Variance Details: The VI calculates the output values using the following equations.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 Figure 5, Histogram Display The functions of the controls or indicators are: Number of Bins Number of bins to be used to calculate the histogram. Histogram Plot Histogram of the measured pulse energies in the sample buffer. The Gaussian fit to the data is plotted as well. The statistics are shown on this display as well. See the Strip Chart section for their description. The Statistics Display Figure 6 shows the Statistics Display of the Applications Software.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 Figure 6, Statistics Display The functions of the controls or indicators are: Display STDEV Divided by Mean Displays the standard deviation as: Standard Deviation / Mean Display Fluence Displays the statistics as Fluence, J/cm^2. Display Average Power Displays the statistics as Average Power. This is calculated as Watts = Joules x Frequency. Min The minimum pulse energy in the data set.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 31 The maximum pulse energy in the data set. Mean The mean pulse energy in the data set. Spread Spread is defined as: (max - min) / (max + min) Median Finds the median value of the pulse energy data by sorting the values of pulse energy and selecting the middle element(s) of the sorted array. Standard Deviation The standard deviation of the pulse energy in the data set. This can be interpreted as the RMS noise.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 32 the mode of X is 4 because that is the value that most often occurs in X. Pulses Below Threshold When the Search Data for Missing Pulses button is pressed, the current data set is examined. Any pulses with energy less than the threshold are flagged as missing, and their time stamps are recorded and displayed. This can be used with internal and external triggering, but it is most effective when used with external triggering.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 Figure 7, FFT Display The function of the controls and indicators are: Remove DC Component Removes the DC component from the FFT. This control must be set before reading the data from the instrument or a saved data file. Unwrap Phase Unwrap Phase, when set to TRUE, enables phase unwrapping on the output phase Amplitude Spectrum Phase. The Probe Data Display Figure 8 shows the Probe Data Display of the Applications Software.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 Figure 8, Probe Data Display The functions of the controls or indicators are: Wavelength Correction Factor The responsivity correction factor that corresponds to the wavelength response of the sensor. Note that this is only active when wavelength is on and the set wavelength is different than the calibration wavelength. Calibration Wavelength The wavelength of the laser used to calibrate the sensor. Calibration Temperature The temperature of the sensor at calibration.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 35 Log Wavelength Scale Toggles the wavelength axis of the absorption plot between log and linear scale. % Absorption Plot The absorption curve of the sensor versus wavelength. This data is used along with the calibration wavelength and the user's laser wavelength to calculate the wavelength correction factor. Max Energy Reading (J) The maximum energy that the instrument can read before the internal circuitry is saturated.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 36 The Controls are: Measured Average Power Enter the measured average power from your Power Meter Here. Mach 6 will use this to compute a new calibration factor for the wavelength in use and store it in the probe in use. Read Average Power From Mach 6 Arms the instrument for a data gathering run, takes the measurement batch and then extracts the Energy and Frequency to use in calculating the average power.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 37 After the probe EPROM is written, Mach 6 will be reset to ensure the new data is correctly read from the probe. Exit Exits the VI and returns to the main display. The new probe response table will be stored and used until a new one is written by the user. It is persistent over a power down. The Indicators are: Wavelength (nm) Wavelength in nm.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 38 Getting Ready to Measure Data The Mach 6 instrument and applications software provide a versatile high speed measurement system. It must be properly set up to work well. The following sections discuss the controls that set up the instrument for measuring data. Range Setting The available ranges are dictated by the probe in use. Use the range control to set the range to a value appropriate for the expected energy.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 39 a trigger is generated by the instrument. For external triggers, if the TTL trigger occurs within less than 100ns of the emission of a laser pulse, then the default value will suffice. If used with external trigger, the timing relationship between the external TTL trigger and the laser firing event can be accounted for by setting the delay appropriately. The available range is -932ns to 2863ns.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 40 Note that when the instrument is set back to internal trigger, the polarity is reset to rising edge, and the trigger delay is reset to 0ns. Trigger Level Tracking Setting This applies to Internal Trigger Mode only. Since the Mach 6 uses a hardware trigger, with a Pyroelectric probe the pulse that creates the trigger exhibits a DC drift, the trigger level will appear to shift in relation to the pulse.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 41 tracking had been turned on, the trigger level would have followed the pulse as it drifted and no data would have been lost. Now suppose in the previous example trigger tracking had been on. The trigger level would have followed the pulse down as it drifted 12%. If the Mach 6 is then disarmed, but the laser is left running at the same repletion rate, the pulse will stay at the same level, but the trigger will return to its non-corrected state.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 42 minutes of data. Pressing the ARM button again stops data acquisition and the pulses are now stored in the Mach 6 memory and are ready to be retrieved and analyzed. If an event occurs during pulse measurement that could potentially corrupt the measurement, then that pulse will be discarded. The significance of this is that the first pulse of a batch taken after an arm is always discarded.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 43 Missing Pulses The Mach 6 Applications software is capable of detecting missing pulses in two ways. Missing pulses below a user set threshold. When the Search Data for Missing Pulses button is pressed, the current data set is examined. Any pulses with energy less than the threshold are flagged as missing, and there time stamps are recorded and displayed.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 44 The response of the probe is stored in the probe memory and is read when the Mach 6 is powered on. It is plotted on the Probe Data display Temperature Correction Temperature correction is done in the Mach 6 Application Software. When a temperature different from the calibration value is selected, the software computes the correction factor based on the responsivity temperature coefficient and the variation form the calibration value.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 45 Instrument Specifications Power Supply Dimensions (inches) Indicators External Trigger External Trigger Slope Internal Trigger Internal Trigger Accuracy Trigger Delay Ranges Accuracy, Energy Measurement Resolution, Energy Measurement Linearity, Energy Measurement Accuracy, PPS Measurement Resolution, PPS Measurement Input Impedance Analog Output Full Scale Analog Output Impedance Temperature Compensation Range Wavelength Compensation Range 9V-15V at 1A 6.56 x 6.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.1 Recycling and separation procedure. This section is used by the recycling center when the monitor is at the end of its life. Breaking the calibration seal or opening the monitor will void the Monitor warranty. The complete Monitor contains 1 Monitor 1 USB cable 1 Instruction manual 1 Calibration certificate 1 Software cdrom 7.8.1 Separation: Paper: Manual and certificate Aluminum: Monitor enclosure. Printed circuit board: inside the monitor. 7.8.
Mach 6 User’s Manual 47 Revision 2.1 DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY Application of Council Directive(s): Manufacturer’s Name: Manufacturer’s Address: 2004/108/EC EMC Directive Gentec Electro Optics, Inc. 445 St-Jean Baptiste, suite 160 (Québec), Canada G2E 5N7 European Representative’s Name: Laser Components S.A.S. Representative’s Address: 45 bis Route des Gardes 92190 Meudon (France) Type of Equipment: Model No.
Mach 6 User’s Manual Revision 2.
