Operation; Controlling Chamber Pressure; Manual; Automatic - Ametek ORTEC Alpha Duo Hardware User's Manual

3. Operation

As a "quick start" for users already familiar with ORTEC spectroscopy applications, the first two sections
of this chapter tell how to use those applications to operate the Alpha Duo and Alpha Mega vacuum
chambers. A more detailed discussion of MAESTRO's hardware and data acquisition controls can be
found in Section 3.5.
NOTE: Users may wish to write a .JOB file that automates the operations described
below, particularly if they are controlling several Alpha Ensembles. See the
chapter on .JOB files in the MAESTRO User's Manual.
3.1

CONTROLLING CHAMBER PRESSURE

The Duo and Mega have three pressure-regulation commands: Pump, Hold, and Vent. The Pump
setting connects the Mega chamber or both Duo chambers to the manifold; the Hold position isolates
the chamber(s); and the Vent position connects the chamber(s) to the atmosphere, after which the
doors can be opened.
3.1.1

Manual

MAESTRO – Go to the Alpha tab under Acquire/MCB Properties... and select the vent, pump,
•
and hold settings as needed from the Vacuum state drop list, using the Actual
vacuum readout to monitor chamber pressure. (See Figure 9)
• AlphaVision – On the Detector Grid, click on the desired alpha chamber, then click on the
Hardware icon on the outlook sidebar. Select the vent, pump, and hold settings as needed from
the Pump drop list. (See Figure 10)
3.1.2

Automatic

MAESTRO – Go to the Alpha tab under Acquire/MCB Properties..., set a Target vacuum
•
between 1 Torr and 13 Torr, then click to mark the Vacuum monitoring checkbox. If users set
a target value outside this range, the chamber vacuum may deviate by more than 10%.
AlphaVision – On the Detector Grid, click on the desired alpha chamber, then click on the
•
Hardware icon on the outlook sidebar. Enter a Target vacuum between 1 Torr and 13 Torr,
then click to mark the Vacuum monitoring checkbox. If users set a target value outside this
range, the chamber vacuum may deviate by more than 10%.
The software will immediately begin using the vent, pump, and hold controls to maintain the target
vacuum ±10%.
AlphaVision also has a detector group control interface that allows users to select one or more alpha
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chambers and simultaneously change their pump status, turn detector bias voltage on/off, etc. See the
AlphaVision user manual.
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