Chapter 3 Description; Features - THORLABS SC10 User Manual

SC10 Shutter Controller

Chapter 3 Description

This device is not designed according to the requirements of IEC 61508 and therefore
is not a safety component.
The SC10 provides a direct interface to the SH05 and SH1 shutter, providing the drive
levels required to operate the shutter with millisecond accuracy. In addition the SC10
also provides a TTL output trigger to control other devices used in concert with the
SH05 and SH1. Both outputs are under direct control of the user interface. The SC10
provides three unique user interfaces; control from the front panel, control from a PC,
and control from a TTL direct interface.
The front control panel allows the user to directly program and monitor the shutter
open and close times. In addition, modes such as run continuous (auto), single shot,
and repeat are selected via the front panel interface. The repeat mode allows the user
to repeat the displayed open and close sequence from 1 to 99 times.
The unit can be triggered from a TTL input. The TTL input may also be configured as
external gate where the control of the SH05 and SH1 output will follow the TTL input.
The unit may also be controlled and operated from a remote RS232 interface. All of
the provisioning and control can be programmed using a command line editor, or from
the stand alone PC application software supplied with the unit. The unit also comes
with LabWindows/CVI® and LabVIEW® drivers.
When used with the SH05 and SH1 shutter the unit detects the presence of the unit
and provides an alarming/monitor feature to insure the status of the shutter agrees
with the output of the controller. When the SH05 and SH1 is present the output trigger
follows the actual state of the SH05 and SH1, this can be used for triggering other
devices or for monitoring the performance of the shutter. When the controller is used
without a shutter the TTL output signal represents the precise programmed output of
the controller.
A key lock and an interlock function are also provided on the SC10.
The SC10 provides drive and output pulses that have 0.001 second resolution and
0.0002 second accuracy for both the ON (open) and OFF (close) time. Though the
controller has this accuracy the resulting operation of a shutter differs due the
mechanical and electrical properties of the shutter.
3.1.

Features

Thorlabs' SC10 is a digital shutter controller designed to control the Thorlabs SH05
and SH1 Shutter. The SC10 also has the ability to operate as a stand-alone digital
delay generator with 1 ms resolution and 0.2 ms accuracy. Features of the SC10 are
listed below.

Automated Computer Control Capability

0.0002 s Accuracy

On/Off Times from 1 ms to 999.999 s

Input and Output Triggers

Interlock and Alarm Functions

Automatic Open Shutter Detection

Automatic, Single, Manual, Repeat (n), and External Gate Operation
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Chapter 3: Description
Rev K, October 25, 2017