Control PC and software¶

All measurements are done with the GUI laser_gui (AC-LGAD Laser Scan Control GUI) on the control PC. This page explains how to install the GUI, the initial settings on the device side, and how to start it.

Control PC¶

Item	Details
User name and password	See Internal information (ask the contact person for the password)
GUI folders	`~/workspace/laser_gui/` (Japanese UI version), `~/workspace/laser_gui_en/` (English UI version)
Where to get the code	`gui/laser_gui/` (Japanese UI) and `gui/laser_gui_en/` (English UI) in this wiki's repository. See Installing the GUI from GitHub
Python	Latest version

GUI versions¶

This wiki is written for the 2026-11-01 version. On 2026-11-01 the GUI folders on the control PC were renamed from laser_gui_v4 / laser_gui_v4_en to laser_gui / laser_gui_en. Read laser_gui_v4 in older notes accordingly.

Folder	Content
`laser_gui`	Japanese UI version
`laser_gui_en`	English UI version. In the 2026-11-01 version it was brought to the same specification as the Japanese version (same functions and defaults; only the on-screen text is in English). Use this version if you do not read Japanese

Main revision history:

Version	Main changes
2026-11-01	Made the laser standard conditions (1 MHz, TUNE manual 50 % = MIP-equivalent) the defaults and added the [★ Apply Standard Settings ★] button to the laser panel. Brought the English version to the same specification as the Japanese version
2026-10-16 (v4)	Support for pixel sensors (sensor type; pixel Find Origin, Full Calibration, scan range and analysis). The 2dYX template-fit analysis (paper figures) can be run from the [Analysis] tab
2026-10 (v2)	Sensor dictionary, automatic origin registration, fine finishing + verification for Find Origin, 3 Z-tracking methods, method selection for TUNE optimization, etc.

The screenshots in this wiki were generated automatically in simulation mode by docs/make_screenshots.py, which comes with the GUI (2026-11-01 version). Waveforms and camera images are dummy data, and internal information such as addresses is blacked out.

Installing the GUI from GitHub¶

The GUI code is in gui/ of the same repository as this wiki. To install it on a PC other than the control PC, or to reinstall it on the control PC:

Get the repository and copy gui/laser_gui_en (Japanese UI: gui/laser_gui) to ~/workspace/.

git clone https://github.com/Kanato-M/Hiroshima-TCT-wiki.git
cp -r Hiroshima-TCT-wiki/gui/laser_gui_en ~/workspace/

In the GUI folder, copy config_local.example.json to config_local.json and replace the placeholders such as <SCOPE_IP> with the real values. The values are on the Internal information page (password protected).

The public code does not contain the IP addresses etc.

In the public repository, the device IP addresses, user names, etc. are replaced by placeholders such as <SCOPE_IP>, <STAGE_IP> and <SCOPE_USER>. If you start the GUI without config_local.json, the terminal shows a "real device values are not set" warning and the oscilloscope and stage cannot be connected (simulation mode still works). config_local.json is not tracked by git, so the real values are never committed.

Required software¶

On the Windows control PC (Python 3.10 or later), go to the GUI folder and install the dependencies (first time only).

pip install -r requirements.txt

Contents of requirements.txt:

Package	Purpose
PySide6	GUI framework
pyvisa, pyvisa-py	Oscilloscope control (when using VXI-11)
pyserial	PiLAS DX (USB virtual COM), SHRC-203 (when using RS-232C)
opencv-python	Focus camera
numpy	Numerics
paramiko	Data retrieval (scope → PC, SSH/SFTP)
matplotlib, uproot	Quick analysis (figure output, `.trc` → ROOT conversion)

NI-VISA is not needed

The LeCroy VICP protocol is implemented in pure Python in devices/lecroy_scope.py, so neither NI-VISA nor the LeCroy VICP passport is needed.

Initial device settings (first time only)¶

These settings are needed only when the setup is newly assembled or a device is replaced. For normal measurements they are already done.

PiLAS DX: the USB connection requires the FTDI VCP driver (PiLAS Product Guide section 3.3). Check the COM number in Device Manager (COM5 on the control PC).
LeCroy oscilloscope: check the control method under Utilities → Utilities Setup → Remote on the scope.
- TCPIP (VICP) (default): VICP::<scope IP>::INSTR
- LXI (VXI11): TCPIP0::<scope IP>::inst0::INSTR
Either way, the GUI falls back to the other one automatically on connect. The IP is in Internal information. 3. LeCroy SSH server: data retrieval connects to the OpenSSH server (sshd) on the scope's Windows. Already set up as of 2026-09. 4. SHRC-203: enable Ethernet in the controller menu and set the IP (Internal information). Use the SHOT-compatible command mode, and match the port number to the controller setting. 5. Control PC: set the IP address and gateway on the instrument LAN (Internal information). Set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. With 255.255.255.255, even devices on the same segment are not reached directly but via the router, and the stage (SHRC-203) does not respond. When you change the IP, mask or gateway on the SHRC-203 itself, they take effect after power-cycling it.

Per-PC settings `config_local.json`¶

Settings that differ per PC, such as the COM port number or the save folder on the scope, go into config_local.json in the same folder instead of editing config.py. Only the keys you write are overridden.

{
  "laser_port": "COM5",
  "stage_um_per_pulse": [2.0, 2.0, 2.0],
  "stage_speed_pps": [1000, 10000, 200],
  "scope_save_dir": "C:\\Users\\LeCroyUser\\Desktop\\data",
  "scope_smb_user": "<SSH user>",
  "transfer_dest_dir": "..\\data"
}

Key	Default	Content
`scope_resource`	`VICP::<scope IP>::INSTR`	Scope address
`scope_save_dir`	`C:\Users\LeCroyUser\Desktop\data`	Base folder for waveforms on the scope
`scope_smb_user`	`<SSH user>`	SSH user name for data retrieval
`transfer_dest_dir`	`..\data`	Destination on the PC (may be relative to the GUI folder)
`stage_host` / `stage_port`	`<stage IP>` / `<port>`	Stage address
`stage_um_per_pulse`	`[2.0, 2.0, 2.0]`	Travel per pulse [µm] (X, Y, Z). Confirmed on the hardware
`stage_speed_pps`	`[1000, 10000, 200]`	Start speed [pps], max speed [pps], acceleration time [ms]. Setting them too high risks losing steps
`laser_port`	`COM5`	Laser COM port
`camera_index`	`0`	Camera device index
`scope_trig_delay`	`-53NS`	Standard horizontal offset
`laser_freq_hz`	`1000000`	Standard laser repetition rate (the value sent by [★ Apply Standard Settings ★])
`laser_tune_auto` / `laser_tune_percent`	`false` / `50.0`	Standard TUNE (manual 50 % = MIP-equivalent)
`stage_screen_dir`	`[1, -1]`	Jog direction: signs of the stage axes that move toward (right, up) in the camera image. Fix this if you change the camera or stage orientation

Do not write the password in a file

The SSH password for data retrieval is not stored; enter it in the GUI for each transfer. Ask the setup administrator for the password.

Starting the GUI¶

The folder logs/ for logs and state files is relative to the directory you start from, so always start in the GUI folder.

On the control PC, open a terminal and start it as follows (the Japanese UI version is laser_gui).

cd workspace/laser_gui_en
python ./main.py              # real hardware mode
python ./main.py --simulate   # simulate all devices

On startup, the window opens sized to fit the usable area of the monitor. For the screen layout, see GUI overview.

Practicing in simulation mode¶

Starting with python main.py --simulate turns every device into a simulated one, and the window title shows [SIMULATION MODE].

It has a simulated sensor response (devices/sim_world.py) that reproduces zero signal on the electrodes, minimum amplitude at focus, a tilted sensor and TUNE dependence.
You can run origin finding, full calibration, Z focus, TUNE optimization and scans all the way through.
State files are saved in logs_sim/; the real-hardware logs/ is not touched.

Practice in this order:

Press [Connect] on each panel ([Start] for the camera).
[Mechanical Home (H:W)] on the [Move] tab of the stage panel.
[Go to Start] on the [Positions] tab.
[Emission ON (ld=1)] on the laser panel.
[Find Origin (Z→Y→X→R:W)] on the [Alignment] tab.
Run a 1D position scan on the auto scan panel.

We recommend going through the following Measurement overview once in simulation mode first.

Folder structure¶

The ~/workspace/ folder on the control PC looks like this:

workspace/
├── laser_gui/           # GUI (Japanese UI version)
├── laser_gui_en/        # GUI (English UI version)
├── data/                # waveforms retrieved from the scope (<year>/<YYYYMMDD>/scan_...)
├── macro/               # template-fit and pixel analysis (template_timing/)
└── results/             # analysis results (<scan name>/)

Inside a GUI folder (the English UI version has the same layout):

laser_gui/
├── main.py              # entry point
├── config.py            # settings (overridden by config_local.json)
├── sensors.py           # registry of sensor / DUT profiles
├── scan_geometry.py     # measured coordinates and tilt coefficients of the standard sensor (2026-08-24)
├── devices/             # device drivers (simulate mode built in)
│   ├── pilas_laser.py   #   PiLAS DX
│   ├── shrc203_stage.py #   SHRC-203 + machine coordinate tracking
│   ├── lecroy_scope.py  #   LeCroy (SCPI + VBS, screen capture)
│   ├── scope_scp.py     #   data retrieval (SSH/SFTP)
│   ├── focus_camera.py  #   USB camera
│   └── sim_world.py     #   simulated sensor response for --simulate
├── gui/                 # PySide6 panels
├── logs/                # communication log, scan records, state files
├── captures/            # camera snapshots
└── analysis/            # quick analysis of acquired data (run_analysis.py)

The retrieved data (..\data), analysis results (..\results) and the template-fit analysis code (..\macro) on the PC are placed outside (next to) the GUI folder, so that the Japanese and English GUIs can share the data. For details, see Output files.

Retrieved data are backed up to the NAS (Data retrieval and quick analysis).

Measurement log¶

Every command sent to a device and its response are shown in the communication log at the bottom left of the GUI, and are also kept in logs/gui_YYYYMMDD.log. When something goes wrong, look at this file first.