README.md

the labscript suite » labscript-devices

Plugin architecture for controlling experiment hardware

A modular and extensible plugin architecture to control experiment hardware using the labscript suite.

The labscript suite supports a range of commercial and open-source hardware, and is modular by design. Adding support for new devices involves writing Python functions for a well-defined set of primitives to program instructions, and transition between buffered I/O and manual states. See the documentation for more details on adding new devices.

Supported hardware

The following devices have been implemented in the labscript suite:^†

• AlazarTech PCI Express Digitizers (e.g. ATS9462; PR #41)

• LightCrafter DMD Digital Micro-mirror Device (PR #43)

• MOGLabs Agile RF Synthesizers (ARF/XRF)

• National Instruments Data Acquisition (DAQmx) devices:

  • cDAQ-9184 CompactDAQ Chassis
  • PCI 6251 Multifunction I/O Device
  • PCI 6533/6534 High-Speed Digital Pattern I/O
  • PCI-6713 Analog Output Device
  • PCI-6733 Analog Output Device
  • PCI-DIO-32HS High-Speed Digital I/O
  • PCIe-6363 Multifunction I/O Device
  • PCIe-6738 Analog Output Device
  • PXI-6733 PXI Analog Output Module
  • PXIe-6361 PXI Multifunction I/O Module
  • PXIe-6535 PXI Digital I/O Module
  • PXIe-6738 PXI Analog Output Module
  • USB-6008 Multifunction I/O Device
  • USB-6229 Multifunction I/O Device
  • USB-6343 Multifunction I/O Device
  • Quicksyn FSW-0010 Microwave Synthesizer (formerly PhaseMatrix)

  Note: Since v2.5.0 (June 2019), labscript_devices.NI_DAQmx can be used to automatically generate a labscript device class for any NI-DAQmx device! (PR #56)

• NovaTech DDS9m 170MHz Four Channel Direct Digital Synthesized Signal Generator (see blog post)

• OpalKelly XEM3001 FPGA Boards used by the Cicero control system (PR #50)

• PineBlaster Open-source Digital Pattern Generator

• PrawnBlaster Open-source pseudoclock based on the $4 Raspberry Pi Pico

• PrawnDO Open-source digital pulse generator based on the $4 Raspberry Pi Pico

• SpinCore Programmable Pulse Generators and Direct Digital Synthesis

  • PulseBlasterDDS-II-300-AWG
  • PulseBlasterESR-PRO
  • PulseBlasterESR-CompactPCI
  • PulseBlaster e.g. SP2 Model: PB24-100-32k
  • PulseBlasterUSB

• Tektronix oscilloscopes (PR #61)

• Zaber Motion Controllers, e.g. linear translation stages (PR #85)

Supported cameras

The following cameras are implemented by subclassing labscript_devices.Camera, a Python-based camera server which can be controlled directly from blacs.

• FLIR cameras (e.g. FlyCapture 2) using the free PyCapture2 API (PR #71)
• Andor cameras (PR #80)
• Basler pylon (PRs #69 and #74).
• Any camera compatible with National Instruments IMAQdx (PRs #70, #72, #73, #77, #79, #83).
• This includes most cameras compliant with the GigE Vision interface standard, such as Allied Vision cameras.

† We do not endorse the use of any particular hardware.

Installation

labscript-devices is distributed as a Python package on PyPI and Anaconda Cloud, and should be installed with other components of the labscript suite. Please see the installation guide for details.