THORLABS MTDEVAL User Manual page 8

MTDEVAL
3 Operating Principle
The MTDEVAL - in combination with MTD software - is a comfortable developer tool that allows
to adjust the MTD415x parameters to the operation environment, such as target temperature,
allowed temperature deviation, etc.
The MTD software offers an intuitive GUI that allows to optimize the operating parameters and
save the result to a file and / or to the MTD415x Miniature TEC Driver module. The MTDEVAL
connects the MTD415x module (UART interface) with the PC by an USB2.0 interface.
It is important to understand the memory structure of the MTD415x module. It comprises of a
volatile and a non-volatile (flash) memory.
The flash memory keeps the information independently of the power supply. It has a limited
number of write-erase cycles. For the reason of lifetime extension, the actual parameters are
not saved automatically to the flash, but to a temporary volatile memory instead. A special
command allows to transfer then the entire content of temporary memory to the flash. The
parameters in the volatile memory are used for operation only during the actual session. With
power-down, this memory is cleared.
When power-up the MTDEVAL, the data from the flash memory are read out to the volatile
memory.
The MTD software sends parameters only to the volatile memory. At any time, the actual
configuration can be transferred to the non-volatile flash memory or can be saved to an XML
file on the PC.
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