AMBER
System
Requirements
Dell Workstation with at least: 2GB RAM, Dual Core 2.8
GHz Pentium D processor
National Instruments PCI-6601 card
Shutter Timing Interface
Installation
First time installation
All software
distribution is through the www.mbecontrol.com website. A USB key is required to run the software.
1. Install NIDAQ
(Installation CD is included with the PCI-6601). When installing NIDAQ, make sure that LabVIEW 7.1 support is installed by selecting the custom
installation option.
2. Install PCI-6601
card and let computer automatically install driver
3. Download and
install security key driver (KeyInstall.zip)
4. Download and unzip
latest AMBER installation folder. Run install.msi.
5. Download and unzip
AMBER support file folder. This should
be placed in the c drive so the path is C:\AMBER. If you do not have a drive with the path C:\
it will be necessary to change the drive letter to C:\.
6. Download and unzip
any additional AMBER instrument driver files and plug-ins. Each instrument driver has a *.vi file and a
corresponding *.llb file that should both be placed
in C:\AMBER\Instruments
. Each plug-in has 3
files; a *.vi file, a *.llb file, and a *.txt file
which should all be placed in C:\AMBER\Plug-ins.
7. Run AMBER from
Start->All Programs->AMBER
8. OPTIONAL STEP : Purchase and install LabVIEW
7.1 to create your own plug-ins or instrument drivers. Plug-ins may also be created using C, C++, or
Visual Basic.
Upgrading AMBER
All the log files,
configuration files, instrument drivers and plug-ins are stored in C:\AMBER and
are unchanged by upgrading to a new version of the software.
Download and unzip
latest AMBER installation folder. Run install.msi. The new
version of AMBER will be installed without changing earlier versions. Earlier versions may be uninstalled using the
windows remove program control panel.
Running the same installer program again will uninstall that version.
Adding new instrument
drivers or plug-ins
Download and unzip
AMBER instrument driver files and plug-ins.
Each instrument driver has a *.vi file and a corresponding *.llb file that should both be placed in C:\AMBER\Instruments . Each plug-in has 3 files; a *.vi file, a *.llb file, and a *.txt file which should all be placed in
C:\AMBER\Plug-ins.
Hardware
Installation
Before starting AMBER
plug in the Shutter Timing Interface into the PCI-6601 card installed in the
computer using a 68 pin cable. The
shutter controller output follows the same pinout as
the National Instruments PCI-6503 so it remains compatible with users upgrading
from Epic or Molly. The pinouts are shown below:
The shutter output is
a TTL compatible signal. When the
shutter is intended to be open, a +5V signal is present on the corresponding
output pin.
Configuration
Run AMBER and access
the configuration windows through the Configure menu. When AMBER is started, it prompts the user to
select a configuration file. Start with
a blank configuration file.
IMPORTANT: Any time the configuration calls for a
"Name" it must have no spaces.
A "Label" may contain spaces.
General Settings
Set the timer device
number to the value that was assigned to the PCI-6601 card. To determine the device number
go to the National Instruments Measurement and Automation Explorer.
Several other
parameters can be set in this list. A
description of what the parameter sets appears to the right.
Shutters
There are 24 shutter
channels available in AMBER. The list
box shows what is assigned to each of the shutter channels. For each channel, the relevant information
appears below the list box. The
following information can be set:
Shutter Name
Create a short name
for the shutter with no spaces.
Examples: As, Ga, In, CBr4, Pyro,
VP, Al_1, In2, P, N2. The name should be
short enough to fit inside the indicator (4 letters or less)
Visibility
Is the shutter visible. To control
manually, the shutter must be visible.
Open During Pause?
When a recipe is
paused while running, the shutters are closed and deposition is stopped. To automatically keep a shutter open during
the pause (such as the As shutter when growing GaAs
or the Pyrometer viewport shutter) select this box.
Size
Size
of the indicator.
X position, Y
position
Co-ordinates
of the indicator. The circular display to the right is an
optional control to help you position the shutters in circular patterns. Click on the position in the small display
and the currently selected shutter will move the corresponding position in the
main display. The number of shutters and
radius of a circular pattern can be selected.
The Start at Top checkbox sets the phase.
Color when closed
and when open
Simply click on the
color box to set the color of the control of each individual control when
opened and closed. Click on the shutters
indicators to preview how it will look.
Materials
Materials are shutter
combinations for growing a particular material.
A material must be created for each combination of shutters. This is usually the most time consuming step
in the configuration and must be performed after the shutters are defined. A complicated system may have 20 or more
different materials.
Create a unique name
for each material with no spaces and without using any of the forbidden
characters ( = : ; . , ) ( [ ] { } & % ).
Typical names include: GaAs, nGaAs, InP,
AlGaAs, AlGaAs2, AlGaAs_Si,
etc. The name does not need to have any
relationship to the names of the shutters.
For each material, a
growth rate must be associated with that material. To select a rate that has already been
defined, double-click the desired rate.
To create a new rate, type it in the box. The rate list may not update until a
different material has been selected.
Multiple materials may have the same rate. For example, GaAs
and Si doped GaAs both have
effectively the same rate.
For each material,
click the shutters that should be opened when that material is called.
Eurotherm
This is where Eurotherm controllers are configured. Create a Label and a Name for each
controller. The Label can have spaces
and the Name must have no spaces. It is
best to keep the names short.
Select the parameters
to read. If a controller is temporarilly disabled, deselect all the parameters so the
communications will not be slowed down by repeated attempts to read a
controller that is turned off or otherwise disabled.
Enter the
configuration parameters in the list at the right. If the arrow to the right of the text field
is not greyed out, click it to pull down a list of
choices.
Associating a shutter
with a particular eurotherm is optional. A feature that is currently in development
will eventually make use of this information.
At the moment, the information is not used.
Instruments
The instruments are
where devices such as pressure gauges, pyrometers, and other sensors are configured
here. The available instruments are
determined by the drivers that have been placed in the C:\AMBER\Instruments
directory. For each
driver there is a *.vi file and a *.llb file. To create new instrument drivers a copy of LabVIEW 7.1 is required. The instrument drivers have a structure that
can be copied from a template provided by MBE Control Solutions.
Each instrument has
different parameters that must be configured.
These appear at the right.
Clicking the desired instrument in the Available Instruments list will
bring up the parameters that must be configured. Enter the configuration parameters in the
list at the right. If the arrow to the
right of the text field is not greyed out, click it
to pull down a list of choices.
The Low Limit and
High Limit enable a color change in the instrument indicator. If the measured value is in the range, the
color appears green. It turns red when
the value is outside the range. If the
fields are left blank, the value will always appear as black text on a white
background.
Plug-ins
An extremely powerful
feature of AMBER is that it allows for modular software components to provide
additional functionallity. These plug-in modules are configured
here. Plug-ins consist of three files a
*.vi, a *.llb, and a *.txt file that are all placed
in C:\AMBER\Plug-ins. To create new plug
ins, a copy of LabVIEW 7.1
is required. The instrument drivers have
a structure that can be copied from a template provided by MBE Control Solutions. Plug-ins created in a different programming enviornment (C, C++, Visual Basic)
run in a separate floating window and are not configured in Plug-In setup. For this reason, LabVIEW
7.1 is the preferred enviornment for plug-in
development.
Configuration is
similar to instrument configuration with the addition of Position. There are 4 plug-in slots. Each plug in must be dedicated to its own
slot number 1, 2, 3 or 4.
Display
This is where the
appearance of the Main tab is configured.
Any of the information displayed here is also displayed in the lists on
the Instruments tab. Typically, the most
important values such as chamber pressure or substrate temperature can be
displayed here.
The background image
that appears across the space is set in the General Settings and must be a JPEG
file that is 1159x535 pixels. Set the
image before configuring the display.
Add a new item to the
display and create a label. The font
size, color and background color of the indicator can be set. To preview how it will look, enter some text
into the indicator. Set the size and
position.
USEFUL TIP: To quickly position the current indicator, hold down the
CTRL key and click at the desired location.
The control will move to that location.
Select the
information that should be displayed in the indicator. Any value (pressure, temperature, output
power, etc.) that is being monitored by AMBER can be displayed.
To add text to the
display, select Constant and enter the string to display in the indicator.