DECTRIS EIGER

../../../_images/EIGER_1M_432x206.jpg

Introduction

The EIGER 1M is a high performance X-Ray detector system. It is made of two subsystems: a detector and a control server. The control server is driven using an HTTP RESTful interface.

A C++ API for LImA has been developed at Synchrotron SOLEIL.

Prerequisite

Some dependencies need to be installed:

  • libcurl

  • liblz4

  • libzmq

  • libjsoncpp

to install all dependencies on debian like system, use this command:

$ sudo apt-get install libcurl4-gnutls-dev liblz4-dev libzmq3-dev libjsoncpp-dev

Installation and Module configuration

Follow the generic instructions in Build and Install. If using CMake directly, add the following flag:

-DLIMACAMERA_EIGER=true

For the Tango server installation, refers to PyTango Device Server.

Initialisation and Capabilities

Implementing a new plugin for new detector is driven by the LIMA framework but the developer has some freedoms to choose which standard and specific features will be made available. This section is supposed to give you the correct information regarding how the camera is exported within the LIMA framework.

Camera initialization

Initialization is performed automatically within the Eigercamera object. By default the stream will be use to retrieved images unless hardware saving is activated (CtSaving::setManagedMode(CtSaving::Hardware))

Std capabilities

  • HwDetInfo

Capability

1M Value

4M Value

9M Value

16M Value

Maximum image size

1030 * 1065

2070 * 2167

3110 * 3269

4150 * 4371

Pixel depth

12 bits

12 bits

12 bits

12 bits

Pixel size

75µm * 75µm

75µm * 75µm

75µm * 75µm

75µm * 75µm

Maximum frame rate

3000Hz

750Hz

238Hz

133Hz

  • HwSync

    Supported trigger types are:

  • IntTrig

  • IntTrigMult

  • ExtTrigSingle

  • ExtTrigMult

  • ExtGate

  • There is no hardware support for binning or roi.

  • There is no shutter control.

Optional capabilities

  • Cooling

  • The detector uses liquid cooling.

  • The API allows accessing the temperature and humidity as read-only values.

At the moment, the specific device supports the control of the following features of the Eiger Dectris API.
(Extended description can be found in the Eiger API user manual from Dectris).
  • Photon energy: This should be set to the incoming beam energy. Actually it’s an helper which set the threshold

  • Threshold energy: This parameter will set the camera detection threshold. This should be set between 50 to 60 % of the incoming beam energy.

  • Auto Summation (if activate image depth is 32 and, if not image depth is 16)

  • HwSaving: This detector can directly generate hdf5, if this feature is used. Internally Lima controls the file writer Eiger module. This capability can be activated though the control part with CtSaving object with setManagedMode method.

  • Countrate correction

  • Efficiency correction

  • Flatfield correction

  • LZ4 Compression

  • Virtual pixel correction

  • Pixelmask

  • Retrigger

Configuration

  • Device configuration

    The default values of the following properties must be updated in the specific device to meet your system configuration.

Property name

Description

Default value

DetectorIP

Defines the IP address of the Eiger control server (ex: 192.168.10.1)

127.0.0.1

How to use

This is a python code of a simple acquisition:

from Lima import Eiger
from lima import Core

#------------------+
#                  |
#                  v ip adress or hostname
cam = Eiger.Camera(lid32eiger1)

hwint = Eiger.Interface(cam)
ct = Core.CtControl(hwint)

acq = ct.acquisition()

# set hardware configuration
# refer to the Dectris Eiger documentation for more information
cam.setCountrateCorrection(False)
cam.setFlatfieldCorrection(True)
cam.setAutoSummation(False)
cam.setEfficiencyCorrection(True)
cam.setVirtualPixelCorrection(True)
cam.setPixelMask(True)

# read some parameters
print (cam.getTemperature())
print (cam.getHumidity())


# set energy threshold in eV
cam.seThresholdEnery(16000)
cam.setPhotonEnergy(8000)

# setting new file parameters and autosaving mode
saving=ct.saving()

pars=saving.getParameters()
pars.directory='/buffer/lcb18012/opisg/test_lima'
pars.prefix='test1_'
pars.suffix='.edf'
pars.fileFormat=Core.CtSaving.EDF
pars.savingMode=Core.CtSaving.AutoFrame
saving.setParameters(pars)

# set accumulation mode

acq_pars= acq.getPars()

# now ask for 10 msec exposure and 10 frames
acq.setAcqExpoTime(0.01)
acq.setAcqNbFrames(10)

ct.prepareAcq()
ct.startAcq()

# wait for last image (#9) ready
lastimg = ct.getStatus().ImageCounters.LastImageReady
while lastimg !=9:
  time.sleep(1)
  lastimg = ct.getStatus().ImageCounters.LastImageReady

# read the first image
im0 = ct.ReadImage(0)