CPO-8
We will be attending the 8th International Conference on Charged Particle Optics (CPO-8) that is being held in Singapore from 12-16 July 2010 (www.cpo-8.org).
At this conference, we will be presenting some scientific papers about our latest work and performing hands-on demonstrations of our software in the software demo session.
We hope you can also attend this conference and look forward to seeing you in Singapore.
Recent Developments and Ongoing Work
Overview
We have a
comprehensive set of programs for analysing and designing optical
systems containing round and multipole lenses and Wien filters.
We are
developing software for more complex multipole systems, mirrors,
prisms, and curved axis systems, including high-order aberrations
and Coulomb interactions.
We are bringing graphical user interfaces (GUI) to our existing
packages. The GUI packages
run on the latest Windows systems and have many advantages over our
command-line versions.
SOURCE GUI
We are working on a beta version of our SOURCE GUI package, which will be released in Q2-Q3 2010. The SOURCE GUI combines the functional modules of the SOURCE and SOURCE_PP packages into an integrated development environment. See a demo video of the SOURCE GUI here.
OPTICS GUI
The OPTICS GUI combines the functional modules of the package into an integrated development environment, which provides a better overview of the design process. For field analysis of individual optical elements, the multi-panel screen gives simultaneous display of input data file, mesh layout, axial functions and equipotential plot. As the data is changed, the plots can be updated interactively. In the optical analysis of the whole column, the multi-panel display shows the column data, aberration values and plots of the column layout, paraxial rays and spot diagrams and current density plots.
OPTICS GUI for column analysis
DYNAMIC GUI
The DYNAMIC GUI
software combines the OPTICS functionality with the ability to
analyse dynamic deflection aberration correction elements.
The fields of stigmators and dynamic focus lenses are
analysed in the GUI in a similar way to the standard lenses and
deflectors in OPTICS.
The optical properties calculation can take into account the effects
of the dynamic correction elements and predict their required
correction signals. Plots of the aberrated spot can be generated,
including the dynamic corrections.
DYNAMIC GUI for magnetic
stigmator analysis
REFINE GUI
The REFINE GUI package combines the OPTICS capabilities with the ability to optimise the optical performance. The optimisation process is controlled through a dedicated set of forms, which allow the adjustable parameters and the target weights to be conveniently manipulated and visualised. The optimised design can then be analysed using the OPTICS tools within the integrated GUI.
REFINE GUI Optimisation
Progress Screen
MULTIPOLE GUI
We have developed a comprehensive set of tools for analysing and designing multipole lens systems. The column can contain combinations of electrostatic and magnetic round lenses and electric and magnetic deflectors, quadrupoles, hexapoles and octopoles. The software incorporates an optimisation tool that is used to refine a design to minimise a weighted set of aberrations by adjusting a user-defined set of system variables. The software also has the ability to analyse asymmetry aberrations introduced by constructional errors in the lenses. The software has a form-based graphical user interface, which allows interactive modification of the column data and control of the optimisation procedure.
MULTIPOLE Optimisation
Control Screen
WIEN GUI
Our WIEN software will handle systems that contain a Wien filter plus any combinations of the following optical elements: electrostatic and magnetic round lenses, electrostatic and magnetic quadrupole lenses. For the primary beam, the user can set the strength of the electrostatic dipole field and the program will adjust the strength of magnetic dipole field in the filter in order to satisfy the Wien condition to allow the beam to pass through the filter with zero net deflection. The first-order optical properties are computed by numerical solution of the paraxial ray equation. The aberrations are computed by evaluating a differential algebra raytrace. The aberrations include second and third-order geometric aberrations, and 1st order chromatic. WIEN has a Graphic User Interface (GUI), which affords a better understanding and control of the system and its parameters during the analytical and design procedures. A typical screen-shot of the GUI is shown below.
WIEN Control Screen