DEVice - Device specification and properties

Device properties of Spektralwerk Core can be accessed using the DEVice root path. The individual information is deposited on the spectrometer during initialization. Most of the properties can not be altered by the user but provide necessary information about the internally used spectrometer head.

:CONSumption - Electrical consumption

query only

The electrical consumption of the Spektralwerk Core can be monitored using DEVice:CONSumption path.

Parent path: DEVice:CONSumption

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:CURRent returns the current consumption -
  :UNIT returns the unit of the current consumptio -
:POWer returns the power consumption -
  :UNIT returns the unit of the power consumption -
:VOLTage returns the voltage consumption -
  :UNIT returns the unit of the voltage consumption -

Example:

> DEVice:CONSumption:CURRent?

> DEVice:CONSumption:CURRent:UNIT?
I
> DEVice:CONSumption:POWer?

> DEVice:CONSumption:POWer:UNIT?
W
> DEVice:CONSumption:VOLTage?

> DEVice:CONSumption:VOLTage:UNIT?
V

:SPECtrometer - Spectrometer head properties

The spectrometer head represents a fundamental component of a Spektralwerk Core. Head-specific properties are found below the subcommand DEVice:SPECtrometer.

:ARRay - Spectrometer array properties

Technical properties concerning the spectrometer array itself are listed below DEVIce:SPECtrometer:ARRay.

:PCOunt - Number of spectrometer array pixels

query only

The DEVice:SPECtrometer:ARRay:PCOunt query provides information about the number of pixels in the built-in spectrometer array.

Parent path: DEVice:SPECtrometer:ARRay

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:PCOunt returns the number of pixels of the built-in spectrometer array -

Example:

> DEVice:SPECtrometer:ARRay:PCOunt?
256

The value returned depends on the used hardware configuration and might differ.

:PEAK - Peak intensity of the spectrometer

query only

The maximum possible peak value (intensity counts of the spectrometer head) can be obtained with DEVice:SPECtrometer:ARRay:PEAK? query.

Parent path: DEVice:SPECtrometer:ARRay

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:PEAK returns the maximum pixel intensity value of the built-in spectrometer array -

Example:

> DEVice:SPECtrometer:ARRay:PEAK?
65535

The value returned depends on the used hardware configuration and might differ.

:BACKground - Signal background adjustment

Properties affecting the noise background of the spectrometer (Dark Current Non-Uniformity (DCNU), read-out-noise, etc.) are located below DEVIce:SPECtrometer:BACKground. The background settings are already preconfigured to return the best possible result. Be careful when changing these parameter.

:OFFSet:VOLTage - Spectrometer ADC offset voltage

query and command

The DEVice:SPECtrometer:BACKground:OFFSet:VOLTage query and command path provide access to the spectrometer ADC offset voltage. The ADC offset voltage is used to adjust the signal level and the background noise with respect to the baseline.

In addition to the base command :OFFSet:VOLTage, additional sub commands are provided to inform about default offset voltage, maximum and minimum values and the unit of the provided values.

Parent path: DEVice:SPECtrometer:BACKground

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:OFFSet:VOLTage returns the current spectrometer offset voltage <FLOAT>: sets target offset voltage
   :DEFault returns the default spectrometer offset voltage -
   :MAXimum returns the maximum allowed spectrometer offset voltage -
   :MINimum returns the minimum allowed spectrometer offset voltage -
   :UNIT returns the unit of the spectrometer offset voltage -

Example:

> DEVice:SPECtrometer:BACKground:OFFSet:VOLTage?
0.600
> DEVice:SPECtrometer:BACKground:OFFSet:VOLTage 0.800

> DEVice:SPECtrometer:BACKground:OFFSet:VOLTage?
0.800
> DEVice:SPECtrometer:BACKground:OFFSet:VOLTage:DEFault?
0.612
> DEVice:SPECtrometer:BACKground:OFFSet:VOLTage:MAXimum?
1.200
> DEVice:SPECtrometer:BACKground:OFFSet:VOLTage:MINimum?
0.300
> DEVice:SPECtrometer:BACKground:OFFSet:VOLTage:UINIT?
V

:CONNector - Spectrometer connector type

query only

The DEVice:SPECtrometer:CONNector? query provides information about the available fibre connection used in the current device. Possible return values are sma (SMA or SubMiniature version A) or fc_pc / fc_apc (FC or Ferrule Connector, Fiber Channel with or without angled physical contact polish).

Parent path: DEVice:SPECtrometer

Scpi Command String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:CONNector returns the kind of fibre connection -

Example:

> DEVice:SPECtrometer:CONNector?
fc_pc

DEVIce:SPECtrometer:PIXels lists pixel specific properties and values.

:SENSitivity - Pixel sensitivity

query only

The DEVIce:SPECtrometer:PIXels:SENSitivity? query provides a sensitivity value for each pixel. The sensitivity represents a scaling factor for each pixel to compensate the influence of optical behavior of the built-in optical components. This sensitivity scaling factor list is the default list for the MEASure:SPECtrum:SCALe and might be enabled using scale flag for MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCessing or CONTrol:INPut|MANual:EMITter:CONFig:PROCessing (see MEASure:SPECtrum:SCALe for additional information).

Parent path: DEVice:SPECtrometer:PIXels

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:SENSitivity returns a list containing the sensitivity value for each each pixel -

Example:

> DEVice:SPECtrometer:PIXels:SENSitivity?
0.000,0.010,0.020,...,0.030,0.020

:WAVelengths - Wavelength positions

query only

The DEVice:SPECtrometer:PIXels:WAVelengths? query returns the wavelength position for each pixel.

The unit can be obtained by using the respective subcommand. All values listed are represented in the provided unit.

Parent path: DEVice:SPECtrometer:PIXels

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:WAVelengths returns the wavelength value for each pixel -
   :UNIT returns the unit of the wavelength -

Example:

> DEVice:SPECtrometer:PIXels:WAVelength?
4.000e-7,4.015e-7,4.030e-7,...,8.000e-7
> DEVice:SPECtrometer:PIXels:WAVelength:UNIT?
m
:RESolution - Spectral resolution of the spectrometer

query only

The DEVice:SPECtrometer:PIXels:WAVelengths:RESolution? query provides information about the spectral resolution of the built-in spectrometer head. The spectral resolution is presented as full width half maximum (FWHM) values at specific wavelength values.

Parent path: DEVice:SPECtrometer:PIXels:WAVelengths

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:RESolution returns the resolution of the spectrometer -
   :UNIT returns the unit of the resolution -

Example:

> DEVice:SPECtrometer:PIXels:RESolution?
8.6e-9@1.200e-6,8.9e-9@1.500e-6,15.2e-9@1.700e-6
> DEVice:SPECtrometer:PIXels:RESolution:UNIT?
m@m

:SERial - Spectrometer serial number

query only

For reference, each built-in spectrometer head owns a unique serial number which can be queried with DEVIce:SPECtrometer:SERial?.

Parent path: DEVIce:SPECtrometer

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:SERial returns the serial number of the spectrometer -

Example

> DEVIce:SPECtrometer:SERial?
P2.224/990029

:TEMPerature - Temperature monitoring

query only

The Spektralwerk Core contains four temperature sensor at different places to provide the possibility to monitor temperature while measuring.

Parent path: DEVice:TEMPerature

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:BOARd returns current mainboard temperature -
  :UNIT returns the unit of the mainboard temperature -
:ENCLosure returns current enclosure temperature -
  :UNIT returns the unit of the enclosure temperature -
:SPECtrometer returns current spectrometer array temperature -
  :UNIT returns the unit of the spectrometer temperature -
:SUBBoard returns current subboard temperature -
  :UNIT returns the unit of the subboard temperature -

Example response:

> DEVice:TEMPerature:BOARd?
293.23
> DEVice:TEMPerature:BOARd:UNIT?
K
> DEVice:TEMPerature:ENCLosure?
292.12
> DEVice:TEMPerature:ENCLosure:UNIT?
K
> DEVice:TEMPerature:SPECtrometer?
295.25
> DEVice:TEMPerature:SPECtrometer:UNIT?
K
> DEVice:TEMPerature:SUBBoard?
295.17
> DEVice:TEMPerature:SUBBoard:UNIT?
K
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MEASure - Measurement control

The MEASure root path provides access to various measurement adjustments and the measurement itself. All value changes are applied instantaneously.

:SPECtrum - Spectral sample retrieval

Spektralwerk Core offers two possibilities to obtain spectral data. The commands starting with :REQuest will return spectral samples within the SCPI response (in-band), while :EMITter will send the spectral samples to a configured destination (e.g. via TCP over the network; out-of-band).

:AVERage:NUMBer - Moving average number control

query and command

The MEASure:SPECtrum:AVERage:NUMBer query and command provides access to the moving average number for spectrum averaging. The value applies only when the average flag is enabled in MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCessing (in-band), respective CONTrol:INPut|MANual:EMITter:CONFig:PROCessing (out-of-band).

The configured number of averages determines, how many raw spectrum samples are consumed in order to produce a single averaged spectrum. Block-wise averaging is applied. The special value 1 has the same effect as disabling averaging.

In addition to the base command :AVERage:NUMBer, additional sub commands are provided to inform about default average number as well as maximum and minimum values.

Parent path: MEASure:SPECtrum

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:AVERage:NUMBer returns the current moving average number value <INTEGER>: target average number
   :DEFault returns the default average number value -
   :MAXimum returns the maximum allowed average number value -
   :MINimum returns the minimum allowed average number value -

Example:

> MEASure:SPECtrum:AVERage:NUMBer?
1
> MEASure:SPECtrum:AVERage:NUMBer 100

> MEASure:SPECtrum:AVERage:NUMBer?
100
> MEASure:SPECtrum:AVERage:NUMBer:DEFault?
1
> MEASure:SPECtrum:AVERage:NUMBer:MAXimum?
1000000
> MEASure:SPECtrum:AVERage:NUMBer:MINimum?
1
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCessing average
# enables averaging for the in-band receive of spectral data

:EXPosure:TIME - Exposure time adjustment

query and command

The exposure time represents the duration to gather spectral information. Low values are typical for measurements with bright spectral sources to decrease the risk of truncation of spectral data. High values allow measurements of weak spectral sources.

Parent path: MEASure:SPECtrum

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:EXPosure:TIME returns current exposure time <FLOAT>: target exposure time
  :DEFault returns the default exposure time -
  :MAXimum returns the maximum allowed exposure time -
  :MINimum returns the minimum allowed exposure time -
  :UNIT returns the current unit of the exposure time -

Example:

> MEASure:SPECtrum:EXPosure:TIME?
1.0e-6
> MEASure:SPECtrum:EXPosure:TIME 2.3e-6

> MEASure:SPECtrum:EXPosure:TIME?
2.3e-6
> MEASure:SPECtrum:EXPosure:TIME:DEFault?
6.4e-6
> MEAsure:SPECtrum:EXPosure:TIME:MINimum?
1.0e-7
> MEASure:SPECtrum:EXPosure:TIME:MAXimum?
10.0
> MEASure:SPECtrum:EXPosure:TIME:UNIT?
s

:REFerence - Reference spectra handling

The :REFerence attribute allows access to set and get up to two reference spectra on the spectrometer. Reference spectra can influence the processing of a spectrum.

:DARK - Dark reference spectrum

query and command

The dark reference path MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:DARK allows to set a dark reference spectrum that will be processed in the respective channels if reference_dark flag is added to MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCessing or CONTrol:INPut|MANual:EMITter:CONFig:PROCessing.

A dark reference spectrum typically represents the noisy background of a measurement. Therefore the dark reference spectrum is subtracted from the raw spectrum to remove the background noise. The dark reference spectrum should contain a spectrum obtained without any light source or environmental lighting reaching the spectrometer input. If a shutter is used to control incoming light to Spektralwerk Core, this shutter should be closed. Alternatively use an opaque cap on the spectrometer input and darken the environment as much as possible (turn off the light, close the doors, ...).

To acquire or set a dark reference spectrum, two sub commands are available:

  • :ACQuire: Acquire an averaged sample and store it in the MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:DARK attribute. The number of raw samples to be used for averaging can be specified as an optional parameter. Without a parameter, MEASure:SPECtrum:AVERage:NUMBer is used as a default.
  • :SET: Store a list of pixel intensities as the dark reference spectrum.

Parent path: MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:DARK returns current dark reference spectrum -
  :ACQuire - [<INTEGER>]: acquire an averaged spectrum and store it as the dark reference
  :SET - <FLOAT,FLOAT,...>: set the provided array as the dark reference spectrum

Example response:

> MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:DARK?
2.3,3.2,1.0,...,4.1
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:DARK:ACQuire
# acquires a dark reference spectrum using the current average number value
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:DARK:ACQuire 123
# acquires a dark reference spectrum by averaging over 123 spectral samples
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:DARK:SET 1.2,2.2,4.1,...,2.3

> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCESSING reference_dark
# enables the dark reference consolidation for in-band spectral requests

:LIGHt - Light reference spectrum

query and command

The light reference node MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:LIGHt allows to set a light reference spectrum which will be applied when reference_light flag is added to MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCessing or CONTrol:INPut|MANual:EMITter:CONFig:PROCessing.

A light reference spectrum typically represents the overlaying background light signal, thus the raw spectrum is subtracted from the light reference. The light reference spectrum should contain a spectrum obtained without any reference signal. A sample should be removed from the optical path and the light source itself should be gathered as light reference spectrum.

To acquire or set a light reference spectrum, two possible child commands are available:

  • :ACQuire: Acquire an averaged sample and store it in the MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:LIGHt attribute. The number of raw samples to be used for averaging can be specified as an optional parameter. Without a parameter, MEASure:SPECtrum:AVERage:NUMBer is used as a default.
  • :SET: Store a list of pixel intensities as the dark reference spectrum.

Parent path: MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:LIGHt returns current light reference spectrum -
  :ACQuire - [<INTEGER>]: acquire an averaged spectrum and store it as the light reference
  :SET - <FLOAT,FLOAT,...>: set the provided array as the light reference spectrum

Example response:

> MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:LIGHt?
65232.3,65223.2,65231.0,...,65234.1
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:LIGHt:ACQuire
# acquires a light reference spectrum using the current average number value
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:LIGHt:ACQuire 123
# acquires a light reference spectrum by averaging over 123 spectral samples
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:LIGHt:SET 65231.2,65232.2,65234.1,...,652342.3

> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCESSING reference_light
# enables the light reference consolidation for in-band spectral requests

:REQuest - In-band spectra retrieval

query only

The MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest path allows to retrieve spectrum data via the SCPI interface.

To transfer spectrum data outside the SCPI interface (e.g., via UDP over the network), the CONTrol:INPut|MANual:EMITter path should be used instead.

Requesting spectra with MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest? will return spectral samples as configured by the different endpoints MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig (see documentation of the ...:CONFIG node).

MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:RAW? will always return a single raw spectrum without any processing applied. The default output format is human. The first parameter allows selecting a different format. Available format descriptions are human, base64_float, base64_int16 and cobs_int16. Please consider the appendix Spectral output format for more details.

Parent path: MEASure:SPECtrum

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:REQuest returns in-band processed and configured spectra. -
  :RAW [<OUTPUT_FORMAT>] returns in-band raw spectra. -

Example:

> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest?
12822.3,24398.2,32893.2,...,23892.4
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:RAW?
12822.3,24398.2,32893.2,...,23892.4
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:RAW? base64_float
MTI4MjIuMywyNDM5OC4yLDMyODkzLjIsLi4uLDIzODkyLjQK
# base64 encoded spectral sample

:CONFig - In-band spectral retrieval configuration

command and query

CONFig collects all configurable parameter of the MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest node. The configuration of the in-band spectral sample retrieval is equal to the out-of-band spectral retrieval with CONTrol:INPut|MANual:EMITter.

  • MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:COUNt allows to specify the amount of spectra to be returned upon calling MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest?. An infinite emission of spectra can be started by setting the count to 0. The default value is 1.
  • MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:FORMat alters the notation of the returned spectra. The default value is human. Other possible values are: base64_float, base64_int16 and cobs_int16. The last one allows the highest possible sample frequency (see Appendix - Spectral output format for further information).
  • MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCessing collects possible processing steps to be applied on the spectra before they are returned. By default no processing is applied. Possible values are reference_dark (see MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:DARK), reference_light (see MEASure:SPECtrum:REFerence:LIGHt), scale (see MEASure:SPECtrum:SCALe), average (see MEASure:SPECtrum:AVERage:NUMBer). The processing steps are listed in Appendix - Processing steps.
  • MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:ROI restricts the returned pixel range to the provided values (region-of-interest). The default value varies depending on the built-in spectrometer. For Spektralwerk Core NIR, the default would be 0,255 (first and last pixel in the region-of-interest). The last pixel cannot be higher than the number of pixels of the built-in spectrometer array subtracted by one.
  • MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:FREQuency sets the sample rate for spectra. The default value is 0 which will make the spectrometer return spectra as fast as possible. The unit of the frequency can be obtained with the subquery MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:FREQuency:UNIT?. The sample rate is affected by the MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:FORMat and cannot exceed the maximum sample rate stated in the data sheet for the specific device.

Parent path: MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:COUNt returns the number of spectra returned from in-band query. <INTEGER>: set the number of spectra returned from in-band query.
:FORMat returns the format of the in-band query. <OUTPUT_FORMAT>: set the format returned from in-band query.
:PROCessing returns the applied processing steps for spectra returned from in-band query. <PROCESSING_STEP>: set the processing steps for spectra returned from in-band query.
:ROI returns the current region-of-interest (ROI). <INTEGER,INTEGER>: set the first and last pixel for region of interest.
:FREQuency returns the current sampling frequency. <FLOAT>: set sampling frequency.
  :UNIT returns the unit of the frequency. -

Example:

> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:COUNT?
1
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:COUNT 10

> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:COUNT?
10
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:FORMat?
human
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:FORMat base64_int16

> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:FORMat?
base64_int16
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCessing?
# no processing is enabled by default
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCessing reference_light,average
# enables light_reference and averaging
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCessing?
reference_light,average
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:ROI?
0,255
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:ROI 100,200

> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:ROI?
100,200
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:FREQuency?
0
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:FREQuency 10

> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:FREQuency?
10
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:FREQuency:UNIT?
Hz

:SCALe - Custom spectra scaling

query and command

The MEASure:SPECtrum:SCALe query and command offers the option of applying a customized scaling to the spectra. If enabled (see MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCessing and CONTrol:INPut|MANual:EMITter:CONFig:PROCessing), the provided factors are multiplied with the pixel intensities of the raw spectrum.

The MEASure:SPECtrum:SCALe can be enabled by passing the scale flag to MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCessing or for the out-of-band emission of spectra CONTrol:INPut|MANual:EMITter:CONFig:PROCessing.

A scaling vector containing only 1.0 is equal to not setting scale in the processing configuration (...:CONFig:PROCessing).

The default scale value is the sensitivity curve of the spectrometer (see DEVice:SPECtrometer:PIXels:SENSitivity?).

Parent path: MEASure:SPECtrum

SCPI String Query ? Command [<INPUT VALUE>]
:SCALe returns the current available scaling factors for each pixel <FLOAT,FLOAT,...>: set scaling factors
  :DEFault returns the default scaling factors -

Example:

> MEASure:SPECtrum:SCALe?
0.1,0.2,0.3,...,0.3,0.2
> MEASure:SPECtrum:SCALe 0.5,0.5,0.5,...,0.5,0.5

> MEASure:SPECtrum:SCALe?
0.5,0.5,0.5,...,0.5,0.5
> MEASure:SPECtrum:SCALe:DEFault?
0.000,0.010,0.020,...,0.030,0.020
> DEVice:SPECtrometer:PIXels:SENSitivity?
0.000,0.010,0.020,...,0.030,0.020
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:CONFig:PROCessing scale
# enables scaling for in-band spectral retrieval
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest:RAW?
10000.0,20000.0,30000.0,...,30000.0,20000.0
> MEASure:SPECtrum:SCALe?
0.5,0.5,0.5,...,0.5,0.5
> MEASure:SPECtrum:REQuest?
5000.0,10000.0,15000.0,...,15000.0,10000.0