News

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New Version 1.01.3461 of ModuLab Software

The latest version of the ModuLab (Windows) user software adds a powerful new feature, the Decision Step.

This behaves like a decision box in a flow chart, and allows the next step in an experiment, known as an Option, to be chosen based on the results of the previous step.

The technique is not limited to making a decision based on the measured voltage, but can use other criteria, such as charge, dV/dt, or even a combination of several. For example, after a constant current discharge, the decision may select an option with a condition such as:

"IF (Voltage > 1.4) AND (dV/dt > –0.01)"

A decision may have many different options, and when combined with a loop can produce some powerful experiments that can be left to run unattended.

In order to use this new feature, it is necessary to install version 1.01.3461 of the ModuLab user software for Windows, and also to upgrade the firmware in the Pstat card to version 01.02.00/01.08.00 The feature will not work unless both updates are installed.

• When continually accessing the web pages of the FRA1MHz or FRA300KHz module the instrument would freeze. This is fixed

Solartron Model 1455A and 1453A FRA's:

• Auto-integration now works correctly
• When Auxiliary channels were used results were sometimes noisy
• Auxiliary channels now work correctly below 0.05 Hz

Solartron Model 2087A PSTAT1MS/s:

• Voltage vs. Previous now works in all situations when using the 2 A booster with auto current range selected
• Pulse steps now always return results
• Cyclic steps now end correctly at the specified end potential, even if this differs from either of the vertexes

The new software (which includes the changes listed below for version 1.0.3365) and firmware is now available free of charge in the ModuLab Software & Firmware download section of this website - click here to find it

This release resolved a number of minor problems reported by users, and also included some improvements suggested by our sales force and distributors.

• When measurement rate was not an integer number of microseconds (e.g. 3000 per second) data from consecutive steps overlapped or had a gap.
• In some situations, the Equivalent Circuit fitting would lock-up the software.
• In Equivalent Circuit fitting, CPE and Warburg distributed elements were not working correctly.
• The help system was not working with some multi-byte character sets (e.g. Japanese.)

Enhancement - System Stability and Bandwidth Controls
The ModuLab system’s ability to measure a very wide range of cells, from micro-ohm to terra-ohm, means that the user will often have to make changes to the experiment setup to obtain system stability with their cell. This is often achieved through reducing the control loop bandwidth, or enabling the high stability mode. In some cases there are very clear signs that the system is unstable, such as relays repeatedly clicking, but in other cases, it may just report the wrong values.

However, in achieving stability other problems can be introduced. Reducing the loop bandwidth limits the sharpness of pulses, and the maximum frequency for impedance measurements, although it is worth noting that it is possible to measure impedances up to one or two decades above the loop bandwidth setting. Alternatively, enabling the high stability mode reduces the compliance voltage of the instrument, and also causes small amounts of noise, which can overload the most sensitive current ranges on the Femto Ammeter.

To help new users of the system, the Bandwidth and Stability settings can now be set to "Auto" which tries to avoid some situations where instability occurs. For example, if the External Booster is used in the experiment, the bandwidth is automatically reduced to 10 kHz. Similarly, if the experiment uses the any of the current ranges from 300 µA to 30nA, then the High Stability mode is automatically enabled.

Enhancement - Impedance Step Time Display
Unlike all other steps, Impedance steps with a constant DC level do not run for a fixed duration of time, but for the period of time taken to complete the measurement. The software now estimates this duration while the step is running, and the estimated time remaining for the step is displayed in the status grid.

Enhancement - Experiment Editor
The circuit editor for the Equivalent Circuit fitting has been improved to speed up the creation of new circuits. When adding a new component next to an existing one, the editor will now automatically add a wire to connect the two. The same is also true when adding a component to a wire as well, so it is much easier to replace one component with another. Simply delete the old one and place the new one in the gap.

The new software (which includes the changes listed above) is now available free of charge in the ModuLab Software & Firmware download section of this website - click here to find it

As part of the continuing process of updating our products, we are pleased to release version 3.0.1 of the SMaRT software for our materials test instruments. This release improves the usability of the package, particularly in the graph setup and display functions, as well as resolving a number of bugs. Major changes include:

Multiple Scan Selection
When the Data File Information window is displayed, after opening a Data File, it is now possible to select multiple scans to display as traces on the graph. This works using the standard Windows technique: Click the first scan and then hold down Shift while clicking the second scan to select all the scans in the range, or hold down Ctrl while clicking to add or remove individual scans. This makes it much quicker to display multiple traces from a single data file.

Plot Legend
One problem that occurred when there were many traces on a graph is that the legend took up too much space, and compressed the graph, especially when showing complex plane plots. In the new release, the legend is automatically positioned to allow the graph area to be as large a possible.

Experiment Editor
Another area that has been improved is the Experiment Editor, particularly with respect to the Loop or Sweep tasks. There were previously problems where an experiment became corrupt, and did not run as expected. This has now been fixed, and experiments that were previously corrupted should now work correctly.

It is now also much easier to edit long experiments, as new tasks are now added just after the selected task, instead of at the end of the list. Similarly, if ‘Set DC Level’ task is changed to a ‘Sweep DC Level’ task, the End task is added just after the Start task, so it is easier to move it to the correct position.

Other Improvements
The other main changes are as follows:

• The selection of AC or DC coupling for a 1260 FRA used standalone is now fixed.
• The online help system accessed via the F1 key has been updated to the newer HTMLHelp format and so correctly works under Windows Vista as well as XP.
• Real-time graphs can be selected individually, so it is possible to have the complex plane plot displayed without having to show the two Bode plots. This is configured in the Graphics page of the Options window.

The new code is now available free of charge in the download section of this website - click here to find it

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