Category Archives: Software for Surface Analysis Systems

Information on software for control of surface analysis systems and data processing

Support for the PC137 and PCMap1 Interface

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As of May 1, 2016, RBD will be discontinuing support for the PC137 and PCMap1 interface boards for legacy PHI / Perkin-Elmer systems. If you’re still using your PC137 and.or PCMap1 interface board, you’ll have a number of options for keeping your system up and running.

Why we’re discontinuing support:

Both the PC137 and PCMap1 are ISA cards. The ISA interface was designed in the days of DOS computers, and support for the interface has been waning since Windows XP. While these legacy interfaces could still serve their purpose (even at ISA’s slow speed (by today’s standards), security issues have caused Microsoft to drop support for ISA libraries in their latest development environments.

What it means if you are running these legacy interfaces:

If your PC is up and running with the PC137/PCMap1 interface(s), you of course don’t need to do anything right away. However, you won’t be able to upgrade Windows, and finding a replacement PC with ISA slots can be challenging (although they are available).

You also will not be able to run that latest (or any future versions) of AugerScan and AugerMap. Both applications are still being updated with new features and bug fixes, however without available ISA libraries they will no longer support communications with either boards.

Replacing the PC137 and PCMap1 Interfaces

If you chose to update your PC137 / PCMap interface, you’ll be replacing them with a single PCI or PCIe interface board, and an RBD147 interface unit. The RBD147 unit provides all the breakout interfaces (such as DR11) for the individual PHI units. (The PCMap1 is replaced by the PCMap2 interface, which is part of the RBD147 and is physically located inside the unit).

RBD147

For most systems* you can also choose replace the PC interface card(s) with a PCIe interface (as opposed to the PCI). This board is smaller, uses less power, and serves as an alternative when a PCI slot is not available. The PCIe upgrade also utilizes the same PC147 breakout box.

*The PCIe option is not available for systems with the PHI 79-170 scanning interfaces, such as the 660.

rbd-pcie-interface-card

Whatever you chose, be assured your system is still future-proofed and compatible with the latest PC architecture and Windows version. More information on RBD’s upgrades can be found here.

 

BCF Database for AES

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Version 1.0 of the Backscattering-Correction-Factor Database for Auger Electron Spectroscopy program provided by NIST provides BSFs of homogeneous materials.

From the NIST website: This database provides values of backscattering correction factors (BCF) of homogeneous materials for quantitative surface analyses by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). These BCFs are obtained from Monte Carlo simulations based on two models of electron transport in the material, a simplified model and an advanced model. One assumption for the former model is that the primary-electron beam is unchanged, in intensity, energy or direction, within the information depth for Auger-electron emission. This assumption becomes progressively less useful as the primary energy becomes closer to the core-level ionization energy for the relevant Auger transition or for increasing angles of incidence of the primary electrons.

BCFs can be calculated from both models so that users can readily ascertain the magnitudes of differences in BCFs from each model for materials and analysis conditions of interest. Analysts can readily specify the experimental conditions of interest (primary-beam energy, primary-beam angle of incidence, and, for the advanced model, analyzer-acceptance solid angle), the likely or estimated sample composition, the subshell of the element to be ionized, one of three available formulae for the inner-shell ionization cross section, and, for the advanced model, the Auger-electron transition of interest. The user can also select different numbers of trajectories in the Monte Carlo simulations so that tradeoffs can be made between calculation time and precision of the resulting BCF value. While simulations with the simplified model are generally faster than those with the advanced model, BCFs from the advanced model are considered more reliable. The results of a BCF calculation can be stored in a file for later use.

System Requirements: Personal computer operating on Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME, XP, Vista, or 7, and hard disc space of at least 50 MB.System

Price: No Charge

You can download the program here – https://www-s.nist.gov/srd_online/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.main&productID=SRD154

 

XP support has ended

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On April 8th 2014 Microsoft has stopped providing XP support and the result is that PCs still using XP are vulnerable to security threats. As a result, many companies are moving to Windows 7 or 8. Most companies are using 7 as it has been a stable Microsoft operating system that many people are comfortable with. Windows 8 is a programming abomination (I’m just saying), although Microsoft is making it more like 7 as updates become available.

So, now that XP support has ended, what are your options for the PC that you use for your PHI surface analysis system? If you have an existing RBD AugerScan or AugerMap software upgrade product and our RBD 147 PC interface unit, then you can follow the instructions in this post to port your hardware and software over to a new Windows 7 PC.  If you are running Physical Electronics (PHI) software and have XP please contact us more information about our PC upgrades for older PHI X-ray photoelectron (XPS) and Auger (AES) surface analysis systems and subsystems.

Move from XP to 7 procedure:

  1. Print out each of the hardware and multiplier properties dialog boxes in the AugerScan program. The easiest way to do that is to copy/paste each screen into Paint and then print them. Or, you can copy/paste them into Word so that you have all of the settings in one document. You will need to enter these settings into the new PC so that all the hardware control and calibrations stay the same as on your present PC.
  2. If you have RBD’s AugerMap program, print out each of the dialog boxes under System – Properties. You will need to enter these settings into the new PC.
  3. Go to the software download page at the RBD website – https://www.rbdinstruments.com/products/system-pc-upgrades.html .On this page you can download the Win 7 driver and update files. Please read the information and follow the instructions EXACTLY. The Win 7 drivers also work for Win 8.
  4. Note the version number of your software in the Help – About dialog box for AugerScan and AugerMap. If you have the latest release software but can’t find your CDs, you can download the executables from the bottom of the download page. If your AugerScan or AugerMap version is different than the latest release on the RBD downloads page and you can’t find a copy of your program, please contact us before proceeding to get a copy of your specific AugerScan or AugerMap program sent to you.
  5. Install the Win 7 PCI driver onto your new PC.
  6. Move the RBD PCI interface card over from your old PC to your new PC. When you turn on your new PC the drivers should load automatically. If not, direct Windows to the RBD 7 driver files.
  7. Install AugerScan and AugerMap onto your new PC.
  8. Run AugerScan and AugerMap and load in all of the hardware and multiplier properties values from your old PC.

Finally, if your new PC has only PCIe expansion slots and no PCI slots, RBD now provides PCIe interface cards for our 147 unit. Most newer PCs no longer have PCI expansion slots but do have PCIe expansion slots. Note that the PCIe interface card requires different drivers than the PCI interface card.  For a limited time we will take in your old RBD PCI card and give you a $100.00 trade-in credit towards the purchase of a new PCIe interface card.  Contact us for more information.

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