Computerized Data Acquisition

In the laboratory, microcomputers are extremely popular for instrument control, data acquisition, analysis and display. While manufacturers of various types of instruments offer integrated computerized systems, available commercial hardware/software products are often unsuitable for one-of-a-kind research experiments. For this reason, we offer our services to develop unique computer hardware/software that is specifically tailored to the client's requirements. The key steps in the development of a customized, turn-key system are

• Evaluation of the instrument control, data acquisition, and data analysis requirements in collaboration with the client,
• Recommendation of computer hardware/software components that will be interfaced with the experiment,
• Integration and testing of these components into a working system,
• Development of customized software modules for performing instrument control, data acquisition, and data analysis functions,
• Development of additional software for visual data display using graphic terminals, plotters, and/or printers,
• Installation and final debugging at the client's facility, and
• Operator training.

Our staff are first and foremost active scientists, not simply programmers. We are intimately familiar with laboratory instrumentation typically encountered in the physical and chemical sciences, as well as with board-level analog I/O modules available for many popular microcomputers. We program in various high- and low-level languages including FORTRAN, C++, and assembler. Representative software projects include

• A rapid-scan mass spectrometry system for monitoring transient chemical reactions,
• A mass spectrometry system using surface bombardment by heavy liquid-metal ions, and
• An automated servohydraulic material testing system with computer control, data acquisition, and analysis.

Last revision: 23 January 2002