Data Acquisition and Processing 2

Modern experimental physics generally requires the setup of a data acquisition system of varying complexity involving different types of instruments—such as sources, sensors, actuators, etc.—and a controller (such as a computer). The objective of this course unit is to familiarize students with this type of problem so that they can set up such a data acquisition system. On the controller side, the control logic will be implemented in Python (specifically using the PyVisa library).  

- Overview of the most common communication interfaces/ports: serial (RS-232, USB), parallel (GPIB), and network (Ethernet) (CM).

- Implementation of simple examples of communication, device configuration, and data acquisition (lab).

- Development of a more comprehensive data acquisition system through projects (practical training). 

- Understand the various instrument/PC communication interfaces in order to select the most appropriate one in real-world situations and to configure a new instrument.

- Be able to automate data acquisition tasks on a computer, from configuring the device to saving the data, with real-time display.   

• Basics of Python Programming and the NumPy Library Applied to Physics.
• Familiarity with physics lab equipment (multimeters, oscilloscopes, voltage sources, etc.).

Recommended prerequisites:

• In Python, knowledge of Matplotlib or another graphics library, as well as Pandas, is a plus.