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Amptek ADMCA Display and Acquisition Software

ADMCA is a Windows software package that provides data acquisition, display, and control for Amptek’s signal processors: the MCA8000A, DP4, DP5, PX4, X-123, and GammaRad. This software is free and can be downloaded from the Software Download page.

Features

• Full control of all hardware features. ADMCA presents the user with only those features available in the hardware connected. Typically includes acquisition presets, gain, peaking time, detector HV, detector temperature, number of channels, risetime discrimination parameters, and many more.
• Live display of the spectrum with many options. Can show up to 16k channels, with either integrating or “delta” mode. Includes linear and logarithmic vertical scaling, manual or auto-ranging, and zoom on the horizontal scale. Displays live spectrum and multiple stored or processed spectra.
• Spectral analysis features include energy calibration, setting regions of interest (ROI), computing ROI information (centroid, total area, net area, FWHM), spectrum smoothing, summing of spectra, subtraction and scaling of background spectra.
• Active link to the XRF-FP Quantitative Analysis Software Package using fundamental parameters, which can be purchased separately.
• Supports Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7.

Figure 1. The ADMCA main display window.

Hardware Control

All hardware parameters can be accessed by clicking the “Acquisition Setup” toolbar button. Controls are grouped by tabs. “MCA” tab controls acquisition presets, number of channels, LLD (threshold), setup of single channel analyzers (SCA’s), etc. “Shaping” tab controls peaking time, flat top, baseline restoration, pile-up rejection, and risetime discrimination. Common controls also set by shortcuts. Gain can be controlled by increment and decrement buttons on the toolbar, or by setting a specific value in the Setup display. “AutoTune” controls are available to automatically tune key parameters, such as the input offset and the fast and slow thresholds. Customized hardware configurations may be stored as .cfg files. ADMCA is shipped with a library of .cfg files for the common configurations of Amptek’s detectors.

Figure 2. The DPP Properties dialog box of ADMCA. Controls all hardware functions.

Display and User Interface

All functions can be accessed via the command menus. Many functions are also accessed by toolbar buttons. Includes “hot keys” for the most common functions, i.e. starting and stopping acquisition, rescaling the display, setting ROIs, etc. User control of display parameters such as log vs. lin scaling, auto-scaling, zoom along the energy axis, setting colors and grids, and many more. Oscilloscope mode displays pulse shapes for tuning of hardware parameters.

Spectrum Analysis

User can set regions of interest (ROIs) for peaks. Software computes centroids, FWHM, net area, and other quantities. Data are display on the screen for he selected ROI or in a table for all ROIs. Simple energy calibration, using two points or a linear regression for multiple points. Typically based on the centroids of known ROIs. Includes capability for simple arithmetic manipulation, e.g. subtracting a “blank” or “background” spectrum, scaling to match previous data, etc. For quantitative X-ray analysis, ADMCA includes an active link to the XRF-FP software sold by Amptek. For other sophisticated spectral analyses, the data are saved in an ASCII format, that most software will recognize. Data can also be copied to the clipboard and pasted, e.g. in Excel.

File Formats

Data saved as .MCA file (in an ASCII format), which includes the raw spectrum data, a header with calibration and ROI information, and a footer containing the hardware configuration parameters. The ASCII data can be read by most standard analysis software packages.

System Requirements

Supports Microsoft Windows 98SE, 2000, XP, Vista (32-bit), and Windows 7 (32-bit). ADMCA will run under 64-bit versions, but the USB drivers that control the Digital Processor (DP4/PX4/Gamma-Rad/X-123/DP5/X-123SDD) hardware are not compatible with 64-bit versions. Therefore, ADMCA is limited to display of saved spectra and analysis on 64-bit versions. If the MCA8000A device is used in RS232 mode (not with the USB adapter), then it will run fully under Windows Vista/7 64-bit.

Using ADMCA

Installation

There are a few ways to install ADMCA. The first is to run the setup.exe file found on the Amptek Installation CD. The Second is to copy the ADMCA directory from the CD to the local drive (e.g. C:\Program Files\ADMCA), and the third is to download ADMCA from the Software Download page and extract the zip file to the local drive. You must have read-write access to the ADMCA directory. ADMCA CANNOT run from the CD.

Depending on the type of device you have, additional drivers may be required.

• For the DP4, DP5, PX4, X-123, or Gamma-Rad, you will have to install the USB driver. Please see the quick start guide of your product for USB driver installation instructions.
• The MCA8000A does not require additional drivers if you are using the RS232 interface. If you are using the USB to RS232 converter, then you will have to install the USB driver for the converter. Please see the MCA8000A quick start guide for more information.

Quick Use

Please read the Quick Start Guide for your product. It contains specific instructions for the operation of your device. The information below is generic to ADMCA. There are different options depending on the product in use.

Changing the Gain: This changes the full scale energy range.

A common task is to change the energy range of a system. This is done by adjusting the gain of the amplifier. A lower gain corresponds to a higher energy range, and a higher gain to a lower energy range. For example, in Amptek’s digital systems a gain of x100 may correspond to a 15 keV full scale and a gain of x50 to a 30 keV full scale. To adjust the energy range it is always the gain of the system that must be changed. It is not enough to change the software calibration only. The software calibration is only in software. If the software’s calibration is changed without the amplifier’s gain changing appropriately, the software will be displaying the wrong energy range and peaks will be incorrectly identified.

If you are using one of Amptek’s digital processors (PX4, DP4, DP5, X-123, Gamma-Rad), the gain is adjusted through the ADMCA software on the Gain & Pole Zero tab of the DPP Properties, or by using the gain buttons on the toolbar It is necessary to readjust the thresholds whenever the gain is changed. This can be done automatically by starting an acquisition (pressing space bar) and clicking the “Tune Slow/Fast” button on the toolbar of the ADMCA application with no source exciting the detector. See the quick start guide of the appropriate product for more information.

If you are using the PX2, the gain can be adjusted by the gain knob on the front panel. Again, a higher gain is a lower energy range and a lower gain is a higher energy range. With a PX2, a gain of x6 could be a full scale energy range of 8 keV and a gain of x2 could be a full scale energy range of 30 keV.

The MCA8000A multichannel analyzer is not an amplifier. It has no gain control. The energy range can therefore not be changed through the MCA8000A or its software. To change the gain of a system that utilizes the MCA8000A, adjust the gain with the gain knob on the PX2 if using an Amptek system, or with the gain adjustment on whatever other shaping amplifier is being used.

Calibration: Changing the Channel scale to Energy.

Once the appropriate gain (full scale energy) is found, the software can be calibrated. The software must always be calibrated in order to change the channel scale into an energy scale. To accurately calibrate a spectrum there must be at least two known peaks in the spectrum. For example, an iron (Fe) peak at 6.40 keV and molybdenum (Mo) peak at 17.48 keV. It is best to use peaks that are on the two ends of the energy range of interest. Peaks that are too close together may not produce an accurate calibration. For example, do not use Mn at 5.9 keV and Fe at 6.4 keV to calibrate a 30 keV full scale.

• Chose the two peaks that will be used for the calibration and make note of their energies.
• Mark an ROI (region of interest) around each peak. This can be done by clicking the cursor at the left base of the first peak and then holding down the “U” key on the keyboard until the whole peak is highlighted, or by using the Edit ROI button on the toolbar and then clicking and dragging across the peak until it is highlighted. For more information on marking ROIs please see the Help file under Analyzing Data with the ADMCA Software -> Regions of Interest and How to Define Them.
• Now click in the toolbar button “Calibrate” to open the calibration dialog box.
• Move the dialog box such that both peaks are visible and then click the cursor into the first peak. The peak should be highlighted and the Peak Information section on the right-hand information panel should be filled in. If the peak is highlighted and there is no peak information, then the ROI is not marked correctly. Try adjusting the start and end points of the ROI.
• Click the Centroid button on the dialog box. This will enter the center position of the peak into the Channel box. Then enter the energy of that peak into the Value box, e.g. 6.4, and click Add.
• Now click the cursor into the second peak (it will highlight). Click on Centroid, enter the second energy, e.g. 17.48, and click Add. There should now be two lines in the box.
• In the Units box type in the energy units, e.g. keV.
• Click OK. The scale should now be in energy. If it is not press F7, this toggles between calibrated units and channels.

Figure 3. The ADMCA display window showing the Calibrate dialog box. The spectrum that is shown has two regions of interest (ROI's) marked.

If the same energy range is to be used (i.e. the gain has not changed), ADMCA can be set to load a calibration automatically on startup. Save a spectrum that has been calibrated by following the steps above. Click on the View menu and select Preferences. On the General tab in Spectrum Template enter in the path and file name of the file that was just saved. Check Load Calibration on Startup and click OK. ADMCA will now automatically load that calibration every time it opens.

In addition, a calibration can be applied from one file to another. For this procedure see the Help file (F1) under Analyzing Data with the ADMCA Software -> Calibrating a Spectrum / Applying a Calibration.

Keyboard Shortcuts

For a complete list go to the Help menu and select Keyboard Map. Here are a few:

• The "Space Bar" Starts and Stops an acquisition.
• The "A" key clears the data and resets the time.
• Pressing and holding down the "U" key marks an ROI to the right, and the "Y" key marks an ROI to the left.
• F8 sets the LLD Threshold to the current cursor position.
• F1 opens the Help File.

Troubleshooting

For Digital Processors (DP4, DP5, PX4, X-123, Gamma-Rad)

• Sometimes no spectrum will appear if PUR is enabled and the Fast Threshold is set improperly (in the DPP Properties-Shaping tab). Turn PUR off and check if the spectrum appears. If it does then the Fast Threshold needs to be set correctly. Remove any source from in front of the detector and click the “Tune Fast Threshold” button. Put the source back and check if the spectrum appears. If it does not then you will have to adjust it manually as described below.
• The Fast and Slow Thresholds can be adjusted manually. First turn off PUR as described above. Then click the cursor to channel 1 and press F8. This will set the Slow Threshold (LLD) to channel 1. This will show the noise of the system. Click the cursor just to the right of the noise and then press F8. Press the “A” key to clear. There should be no counts accumulating. Now put the device into “Delta” mode by clicking the Delta button on the toolbar. Open the DPP Properties and go to the Shaping page. Adjust the Fast Threshold until 5 to 15 counts per second appear in the Input Counts in the right-hand Info Panel. Now turn on PUR and click OK. Click the Delta button to get back to normal MCA mode and put the source back in front of the detector. The Input Counts should slightly exceed the Counts at low count rate.
• If you still have problems, please email Amptek a saved .mca file from the ADMCA software. Connect with ADMCA, take a spectrum for about 30 seconds and then go to the File menu and select Save as. Save the file and email it to Amptek. It does not matter if there is no spectrum. The file saves important information about the system that will help us troubleshoot.

For the MCA8000A

• Always set the threshold above the noise of the system. Noise will appear as a large peak in the very first few channels of the spectrum. If the threshold is set too low then the MCA will spend most of its time analyzing noise and the actual spectrum will be weak or may not appear at all. Click the cursor after the noise (i.e. to the right base) and press F8. This is the shortcut for setting the threshold to the cursor position. Then clear the spectrum and start another acquisition.
• If you are getting no data try setting the MCA8000A to its defaults. Open the Acquisition Setup and click the Defaults button. Then click OK.

Revised August 31, 2010