Technical data

MicroLab PC
Agilent MicroLab Software Operation Manual 29
Using Pre-Sample Alignment Check
The Pre-Sample Alignment Check produces a visual indication of the
signal strength from a measured sample in a preview screen. This
allows you to determine if the sample is at the instrument focus or
flat against the ATR crystal or reflectance housing, or that the
instrument is aligned to the sample for maximum signal. This
procedure details creation of a method that uses the pre-sample
alignment check. In the method, a measurement to be made from the
sample will be specified. Typically this should be a peak height or
area that corresponds to the sample of interest.
To check the sample alignment:
1 From MicroLab PC or MicroLab Lite, click the Method button.
2 In the Method dialog box, click the New button.
3 On the first page of the Method Definition dialog box, choose
Components from the Method Type drop-down list.
4 Click the Component tab.
5 On the Component page, click the Add button.
6 In the Add Components dialog box, specify a Name for the
component.
7 Select a Calculation Type for the component. Typically, either a
Peak Area With Dual Baseline or a Peak Height With Dual
Baseline will give the best indication of sample alignment.
8 Define the peak (area) to be measured. For peak areas, Peak 1
and Peak 2 define the edges of the peak. For Baseline 1 and
Baseline 2, baseline is established as the lowest point between
the Start and Stop points.
9 Set a Scale Factor such that the measured points will be greater
than 1. For peak heights, a scale factor of 1000 ensures that most
measurements are on-scale.
10 Click OK.
11 On the method Type page, select Show Pre-Sample Alignment
Check. From the drop-down list, choose the component defined
in Step 6.