Electronics and Automation

All system electronics (including the computer) are located in a single rack for convenience.
The rack also includes a fully automated pumping system to perform tasks such as evacuating
the airlock during sample change or setting the sample-space exchange-gas pressure with
a minimum of user intervention.

The power supply is our standard high-stability model with four quadrant operation. The power supply features automatic quench detection with fail-safe energy absorption for full protection in the event of a magnet quench or power failure.

The computer is a purpose-built unit fitted with an interface and National Instruments Data Acquisition cards. An open LabVIEW software suite is installed which may be easily modified or extended to allow for further measurement options or user customization. The LabView software allows the user to select the type of measurement to be made, to create, store and retrieve measurement sequences and to customize the range of variables measured at each point in a sequence.

The software permits:
• Full control of power supply parameters to set the desired Magnetic Field.
• Optional 5 sensor temperature monitoring in cryostat
• Fail-safe shutdown even with power failure.

The Cryogenic applications package provides full information on the current status of the system. The software logs all of the system monitoring parameters so the exact history of the system is known. The sequence editor allows the user to build measurement sequences which control the magnet ramp sweep rate and field hold times.

Open Access to the Software Code
The algorithms which perform the measurement calculations are accessible to the researcher
for modification. This allows for custom measurement routines and calculations to be
integrated into the system directly by the researcher if the experiment requires.