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RGB Photonics Qwave User Manual

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Summary of Contents for RGB Photonics Qwave

  • Page 2 Product specifications and descriptions in this manual are subject to change without notice. RGB Photonics GmbH will not be responsible for errors and omissions in this manual or for direct or incidental damages in connection with the use of this device or information.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Contents Introduction ........................1 Product Overview ........................1 System Requirements ....................... 2 Package Contents........................2 Optional Accessories ......................... 2 Installation ......................... 3 Device with USB interface......................3 Device with UART interface ..................... 3 Optical Setup ..........................4 Troubleshooting ......................... 5 Operation ...........................

  • Page 5: Introduction

    It is controlled and sophisticated algorithms for data acquisition and evaluation, but also provides these features through a clear and straightforward interface. This makes the Qwave to be the ideal spectroscopic instrument for all scientific applications that require a resolution of 0.2 to 0.5 nm and a numerical aperture of up to 0.10.

  • Page 6: System Requirements

    Qwave User Manual Applications Light analysis Chemical research Raman spectroscopy Forensic analysis System integration Process control and monitoring and many more 1.2 System Requirements Windows 7, Vista or XP (32 or 64 bit) .NET Framework Version 3.5 (available on the CD and as a free download) USB 2.0...

  • Page 7: Installation

    You can access this dialog window later on by 2.2 Device with UART interface The Qwave is optionally available with a UART interface. This is almost the same as a regular RS-232 interface, but the voltage levels on the data lines are 0 V (low) and +3.3 V...

  • Page 8: Optical Setup

    Waves first in order to get familiar with the device. To use the Qwave with UART interface with a PC, please use the data cable that was included with the spectrometer and connect it to a serial port on a PC. Because a regular serial port does not provide a supply voltage, you also need an external power supply to power the spectrometer.

  • Page 9: Troubleshooting

    0.1, matching the numerical aperture of the spectrometer. The Qwave spectrometer does not detect light from outside a cone that corresponds to a numerical aperture of about 0.1. Therefore, if your focusing optics has a larger aperture, you lose some intensity inside the spectrometer.
  • Page 10 Qwave User Manual branch. If you double click on this should read: "Driver Provider: RGB Photonics" and "Driver Version: 2.8.14.0" (or later). If your spectrometer is marked with an exclamation or question mark, please remove the device, uninstall the software from the Windows Control Panel, restart the computer and install the software again.

  • Page 11: Operation

    There are no wizards to help you with complicated tasks, because wizards tend to 3.2 Overview When you start Waves, the software searches for an attached Qwave spectrometer. If it finds one, it automatically initializes it. Afterwards, the software presents the main...

  • Page 12: Taking Spectra

    Qwave User Manual The main window consists of several panels: 1. The Exposure Toolbar, where you can start and stop taking spectra and set the acquisition parameters. 2. The Spectrum List shows all spectra that are currently in memory. 3. The Properties Panel consists of four tab pages and displays many parameters and values of the spectrum currently selected in the Spectrum List.

  • Page 13: Spectrum Display

    Operation can set a maximum exposure time in order to prevent very long exposure times in cases when there is simply no signal. Spectra can be taken with or without spectral sensitivity correction (see chapter 3.9 for more details). If the lightmeter button [ ] is selected, the spectral sensitivity of the spectrometer is automatically corrected and the intensity axis is measured in nW/nm.

  • Page 14: Working With Spectra

    Qwave User Manual Here you can change the scaling of both axes, the unit of the wavelength axis, turn the display of the grid, peak positions and peak heights on and off and see the coordinates of the current position of the mouse pointer.

  • Page 15: File Operations

    Operation Some of the values in the Properties Panel are saved when saving the spectrum to a file. The others are recalculated when the spectrum is reloaded. 3.6 File Operations You can save the selected spectrum or the whole Spectrum List using the commands in the File menu.
  • Page 16 Qwave User Manual Adjust Offset This adds a constant value to all data points of the selected spectrum. The software suggests an estimated value for compensating an offset, but you may also choose any other value. Normalize This multiplies all data points of the selected spectrum by a constant factor. The default factor is chosen for the maximum value to be scaled to 100.

  • Page 17: Absorption, Reflection And Transmission Measurements

    Operation Show Strip Chart You can use the Strip Chart window to display a characteristic spectrum value as a function of another value for all spectra in the list. The most common task is to display the temporal evolution of a characteristic value. This window can be kept open while taking new spectra to see the changes as they happen.
  • Page 18 Qwave User Manual Please note that the absorbance is sometimes defined as the base 10 logarithm and sometimes as the natural (base e) logarithm. In Waves, you can choose in the Options window from the File menu which logarithm to use.

  • Page 19: Calibration

    Operation These options only determine how to display the spectra in the diagram. The do not modify the actual spectrum data. If your light source does not cover the full range of the spectrometer, the calculated spectrum may show large amounts of noise outside of the wavelength range of your light source.
  • Page 20 Dark Spectra Inside the Qwave spectrometer, the spectra are detected with a CCD line sensor. Like all image sensors, this sensor detects a small signal even if there is no light entering the spectrometer. This signal depends on the individual pixel, the exposure time and the temperature.
  • Page 21 Operation For your Qwave spectrometer, this dark spectrum has already been taken, is stored in the device and automatically subtracted from the measured spectrum each time you take a new spectrum. Because the dark spectrum depends on the exposure time in a non-linear way, there are actually multiple dark spectra stored in the device for a certain number of exposure times.

  • Page 22: Triggering And I/O Port

    Qwave User Manual file, the software calculated the spectral sensitivity of your spectrometer and shows it as a dark green line. To save this new calibration to th If you also want to calibrate the absolute scale of the intensity axis, you need to take a spectrum and also need to know the absolute optical power (in Watts) of this spectrum.
  • Page 23 For external triggering, there are a few more options described below. I/O Channels The Qwave includes an I/O port on the front side with 4 channels that can be configured as general-purpose I/O pins, for light source or shutter control or as trigger input. You can...

  • Page 24: Software Development Kit

    4.1 Prerequisites The system requirements are the same as for Waves (see chapter 1.2). You can use the Qwave SDK with any programming language that can connect to .NET DLLs. This includes C#, Visual Basic .NET, C++/CLI, Delphi, LabView, Matlab and Mathematica.

  • Page 25: Adding The Sdk Library To Your Project

    The main library to connect to your spectrometer is in the RgbDriverKit.dll file. You also need the FTD2XX_NET.dll file. Please copy both to your main project folder. The Qwave device driver for Windows, which is installed during the installation of Waves, must also be present.

  • Page 26: Taking A Spectrum

    Include both DLL files (RgbDriverKit.dll and FTD2XX_NET.dll). Make sure that the .NET framework 3.5 is installed. Make sure that the Qwave device driver is installed. The device driver is normally installed during the installation of Waves. If you would like to use the spectrometer without installing Waves, you can find the files for the device nside the program folder of a Waves installation.

  • Page 27: Technical Support

    Technical Support Technical Support 5.1 Getting Help If you have any questions, comments or requests concerning your Qwave spectrometer or the Waves software, please go to http://www.rgb-photonics.com the menu bar. -mail or telephone. 5.2 Software Updates Software Updates are expected to be released about twice a year. To check for updates, on our website www.rgb-photonics.com.

  • Page 28: Specifications

    Qwave User Manual Specifications Optical Focal length: 75 mm Numerical Aperture: 0.10 Grating: 600, 1200 or 1800 lines/mm Entrance slit: 20 µm Spectral resolution (FWHM): VIS: 0.5 nm 0.2 nm NIR: 0.3 nm Raman: 0.4 nm Stray light: < 0.05 %...
  • Page 29 Specifications Technical Drawing All dimensions in mm. 3D CAD files are available for download on www.rgb-photonics.com.

  • Page 30: Pin Assignment

    Qwave User Manual 6.2 Pin Assignment Qwave Extension Port I/O Port Adapter (Connector viewed towards (Screw terminal block viewed front side of device) towards front side of device) Pins 4, 5 and 6 are only present on the square connector on the device and intended for communication with optional accessories.
  • Page 31 Specifications Pin Assignment for UART Interface If your Qwave has the optional UART interface instead of USB, the pinout of the digital connector on the back of the device is this: Pin number Signal USB cable color Description Voltage Supply +5 VDC...

  • Page 32: Certifications And Compliance

    Qwave User Manual Certifications and Compliance CE Declaration of Conformity The manufacturer RGB Photonics GmbH Donaupark 13 93309 Kelheim declares that the following product Qwave Version 1.0 complies with the following normative documents EN55022: 2010 EN61000-6-2: 2005 and therefore with the following EG requirements...
  • Page 33 Certifications and Compliance FCC Compliance This declaration applies to the following product: Qwave Version 1.0 This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
  • Page 34 Qwave User Manual RoHS Declaration of Conformity The manufacturer RGB Photonics GmbH Donaupark 13 93309 Kelheim declares that the following product Qwave Version 1.0 contains no toxic substances which are specified in the RoHS Directive 2002/95/EG. The conformity to RoHS Directive 2002/95/EG is confirmed.

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