Data acquisition and processing 2

Current experimental physics generally requires the implementation of a more or less complex acquisition chain involving different types of instruments: 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 issue so that they can set up such a data acquisition system. At the controller level, the control part will be implemented in Python (in particular with the PyVisa library).  

- Presentation 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 (tutorial).

- Development of a more comprehensive acquisition chain through projects (practical work). 

- Master the various instrument/PC communication interfaces in order to choose the most suitable one in a real-life situation and configure a new instrument.

- Be able to automate data acquisition tasks on a computer, from device configuration to data backup with real-time display.   

• Basics of Python programming and the Numpy library applied to physics.
• Knowledge of practical physics instruments (multimeters, oscilloscopes, voltage sources, etc.).

Recommended prerequisites:

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