User manual

Windows Server Program
ComTec GmbH 5-27
5.4. DATA file format
The .mpa format is used to save all spectra in a single file. It starts with an ASCII header
containing the settings and then the spectra follow one after the other, each preceded with a
header line like
[DATA0,4096]
(This means the first single spectra with a length of 4096 channels.)
[DATA1,4096]
(This means the second single spectra...)
[CDAT0,16384]
(This is the first dual parameter or calculated spectra with a length of 16384 channels. The
enumeration starts again at zero after all "physical" spectra.)
The format of the data itself can be ASCII, binary, GANAAS or CSV (see below). For dual
parameter spectra look in the header for the parameters range and xdim. range is the total
number of channels, xdim the length of the x parameter. param describes which parameters are
used for the x- and y-axes. For an 256x256 map of ADC1 (=x-parameter) and ADC2 (=y-
parameter) the data in the file is such that 256 ADC1 values are at ADC2=0 and then 256 ADC1
values at ADC2=1 etc.
Individual spectra can also be saved into single files. Such spectra data is written into two
separate files, one with extension .mp containing configuration data and one containing pure
spectra data with an extension indicating the chosen format. The .mp file contains the settings in
ASCII format using the control language described in section 5.2.
Spectra data files with extension .asc contain in each line one decimal number in ASCII
containing the corresponding count value in the histogram.
Binary data files with extension .dat are written with 4 bytes per data value, as usual in the Intel
world in reverse order i.e. the least significant byte comes first.
GANAAS files can be read with the respective gamma spectra evaluation software by the IAEA
and have the extension .spe. It is an ASCII format with a small header containing after a tag
$SPEC_ID: a title, after a tag $MEAS.TIM: a line containing two numbers for the live time and
real time, then a tag $DATE_MEA: and the date and time of the measurement start, then a tag
$MCA_CAL: and two lines containing the order of the polynomial function for the energy
calibration and the polynome coefficients. After a tag $DATA: follow the spectra data in ASCII
with 10 values per line.
A special ASCII format for 2D files with extension .csv can be read with the MPAWIN software for
the older FAST ComTec MPA/PC multi parameter system (if the extension is changed into .asc).
It has got a small header starting with a line [DISPLAY] and ending with a line [DATA] and then
only for each non zero data point a line containing 3 values separated by TAB characters, the x
and y channel numbers and the channel content.