Implementation of the control and data acquisition system for a small angle neutron scattering spectrometer according to the "Juelich-Munich standard"

TL;DR

This paper details the implementation of a control and data acquisition system for a small angle neutron scattering spectrometer, following the standardized 'Juelich-Munich' approach to ensure compatibility and efficiency across facilities.

Contribution

It introduces the 'Juelich-Munich standard' for neutron spectrometer control systems, integrating PLCs, PROFIBUS, TACO middleware, Python, and Qt for a unified approach.

Findings

Successful implementation of the control system for KWS-1 spectrometer.

Enhanced standardization across neutron scattering instruments.

Demonstrated effective integration of hardware and software components.

Abstract

In Forschungszentrum Juelich the control and data acquisition systems for several neutron spectrometers are being built. Because some of these spectrometers will be commissioned to the new research reactor FRM-II at the technical university of Munich, there was a joint effort with the instrumentation group of the FRM-II to establish the "Juelich-Munich standard", which is basically a collection of tools and devices which are used for the implementation of the spectrometers. This includes: Siemens S7 PLCs for all axis movement issues, PROFIBUS DP for the connection of slow control equipment in the front end, TACO Middleware running on PC-Systems with Linux, python for scripting and Qt for the implementation of GUIs. The paper describes the implementation the control and data acquisition system of the KWS-1, the first experiment built according to the above standard