Laser Control: Python Project for Sacher TEC Laser Control

PySacherECLManager (Python Sacher External Cavity Laser) is a Python project developed to control Sacher TEC lasers. This project offers a convenient interface for users to interact with the laser, adjust parameters, and perform various operations for laser control and management. Features

Features

• Laser Parameter Adjustment: Modify settings such as wavelength and speed for specific requirements.
• Intuitive GUI: Easy-to-navigate graphical user interface.
• Integration Support: Includes examples for integration with other tools.

Requirements

• Python 3.x: Ensure a compatible version is installed.
• Sacher TEC Laser Hardware: Required for functionality.
• Dependencies: Listed in the requirements.txt file.

Limitation:

• Platform: Currently only tested on Windows.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/agentsmith29/PySacherECLControl.git

Install dependencies:

The Library requires to have a couple of files that are not directly included in this repository

Maxon Motor Driver

1. Maxon Motor drivers as a zip. You can either use the included zip file
2. Maxon Motor Drivers from the official website

Sacher Laser Driver

In order to make the library work, you need to include the Sacher Laser Libary, which can be requested by Sacher:

1. Set the path to the EposCmd64.dll and the SacherMotorControl.pyd

conf.epos_dll.set(pathlib.Path(
    f'{Laser.__rootdir__}/libs/SacherLib/PythonMotorControlClass/EposCmd64.dll'))

conf.motor_control_pyd.set(pathlib.Path(
    f'{Laser.__rootdir__}/libs/SacherLib/PythonMotorControlClass/'
    f'lib/Python312/SacherMotorControl.pyd'))

Virtual Environment and Dependencies

1. Create a virtual environment (optional, but highly recommended)

# Create a virtual environment
python -m venv .venv

2. Activate the virtual environment 2.1 On Linux and max

source .venv/bin/activate  # Linux/MacOS

2.2 On Windows using cmd

.venv\Scripts\activate     # Windows

2.3 Alternativily, if you are using Bash on Windows:

. .venv/Scripts/activate

3. Install dependencies The full list of depdendecies can be found in requirements.txt

pip install -r requirements.txt

Usage

Configuration File

After installing, make sure you create a config. The libary uses the confpy6 payhton module, to allow working with configuration files, build in the yaml file:

    conf = Laser.Config()
    conf.save()
    #conf.load('./LaserConfig.yaml', as_auto_save=True)
    conf.autosave(True, './LaserConfig.yaml')

See (main.py)[./examples/main.py] for an example.

Base configuration

The base configuration LaserConfig.py, gives default vaules for the initialization. These values serve as the default values for initializing the whole application. You should find a similar file after initialization in your startup directory:

# - Configuration file stored 2024-11-28 16:28:24.693820 - 
LaserConfig: #!!python/object:controller.LaserConfig
 epos_dll: "@Path:<./EposCmd64.dll>" # epos_dll: None
 motor_control_pyd: "@Path:<./Python312/SacherMotorControl.pyd>" # motor_control_pyd: None
 wl_sweep_start: 845    # wl_sweep_start: None
 wl_sweep_stop: 855     # wl_sweep_stop: None
 velocity: 1.6540566248074888 # velocity: None
 acceleration: 1.9904737652227005 # acceleration: None
 deceleration: 1.9904737652227005 # deceleration: None
 available_ports: ['USB0', 'USB1', 'USB2', 'USB3', 'USB4', 'USB5', 'USB6', 'USB7', 'USB8', 'USB9'] # available_ports: None
 port: "USB0" # port: None

Starting the script

Run the main script. An example can be found in src-root:

python ./src/lasercontrol.py

Use the graphical interface to adjust laser parameters, monitor data, and control the laser. Refer to the user manual or documentation for detailed instructions on specific operations and functionalities.

Making an exectuable

source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
pyinstaller ./pyinstaller/lasercontrol.spec

Contributing

Contributions to Laser Control are welcome! If you have suggestions for improvements, encounter any issues, or would like to add new features, please feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request on the GitHub repository.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Citing

This project is part of the Software FlexSensor whgich has been published under DOI 10.2139/ssrn.4828876.

Please cite it correctly.

Schmidt, Christoph and Hinum-Wagner, Jakob Wilhelm and Klambauer, Reinhard and Bergmann, Alexander, Flexsensor: Automated Measurement Software for Rapid Photonic Circuits Capturing. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4828876 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4828876 

Acknowledgements