-\chapter*{Appendix - Data Aquisition Hardware}
+\section{Data Aquisition Hardware}
-\section{Overview}
+{\bf NOTE:} This is slightly out of date, since when the 610B ammeter mysteriously broke, I just used ADC5 for everything. So I can probably leave out all the stuff about the differences between ADC5 and the other ADC's. Then again, it's the appendix. I can probably leave \emph{all} of it out.
+
+\subsection{Overview}
In order to automate TCS experiments, both Digital to Analogue and Analogue to Digital Convertors were required (DAC and ADC). To provide these, a custom DAC/ADC Box was designed and constructed. The box can be controlled by any conventional computer with available RS-232 serial communication (COM) ports. Most modern computers no longer feature COM ports; a commercially available convertor can be used to interface between the box's RS-232 output and a standard Universal Serial Bus (USB) port.
\item RS-232 communications for control by a conventional PC or laptop
\end{itemize}
-\section{Microprocessor}
+\subsection{Microprocessor}
The DAC/ADC box has been based upon Atmel's AVR Butterfly; an inexpensive and simple demonstration board for the ATMega169 16 Bit microprocessor. The features of the AVR Butterfly include easily accessible ports for Analogue to Digital Convertor (ADC) inputs and digital input/output, an onboard Universal Asynchronous Reciever/Transmitter (USART) for RS-232 serial communications, and a 6 character Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). The AVR Butterfly can be programmed using a conventional computer over the USART using a RS-232 COM port. For modern computers (which do not usually posess COM ports), a RS-232 to USB converter may be used.
Figure \ref{avr_butterfly.pdf} is a labelled photograph of the AVR Butterfly showing the use of the available ports for this project.
Unless otherwise stated, all voltage differences are specified relative to the power supply ground of the AVR Butterfly.
-\subsection*{ADC Inputs}
+\subsection{ADC Inputs}
The AVR Butterfly offers easy access to four of the ATMega169's ADCs through PORTF. Each ADC is capable of measuring voltages of $0 < V_{\text{adc}} < V_{cc}$ with 10 Bit resolution. For measuring voltages outside this range, some circuitry is required between the input voltage and the ADC input. In addition, it is desirable to provide the ADC with some form of input protection against accidental overloading. Figure \ref{adc_normal.pdf} shows the input circuit which was used for three of the four available ADCs.
V_{\text{in}} &= \left(\frac{\text{ADC counts}}{2^{10}}\right) \times \frac{R_1 + R_2}{R_1} V_{cc}
\end{align*}
-\subsubsection*{Differential ADC Input}
+\subsubsection{Differential ADC Input}
During the testing of the TCS experimental apparatus, it became desirable to measure the emission current of the electron gun. The electrometer used for this current measurement was capable of producing an analogue output in the range of $0-1V$. However, the negative terminal of this output was not at ground potential, but rather at the same terminal as the negative input terminal. Directly connecting the electrometer output to one of the ADC inputs discussed above would create a short circuit between the initial energy power supply, and ground (refer to Figures \ref{} and \ref{}). Therefore, it was decided to add a differential stage before the input of one of the ADCs.
The low pass filters were added to the inputs of ADC5 after it was found that an unacceptable level of AC noise was being output by the electrometer. The level of noise was too high to be filtered in software, for reasons that will be discussed in Appendix D.
-\subsection*{Temperature Measurement}
+\subsection{Temperature Measurement}
The AVR Butterfly features an onboard thermistor connected to ADC0. Reading ADC0 and applying the formula given in the AVR Butterfly User's Guide \cite{} results in a temperature measurement. This was useful in establishing a link between the changing chamber pressure and the temperature of the laboratory (see Appendix C).
-\subsection*{Power Supplies}
+\subsection{Power Supplies}
Due to the presence of both analogue and digital electronics in the DAC/ADC box, three seperate supply voltages were required:
\begin{enumerate}
\item Digital logic in the range $3 \to 4.5$V
Circuitry was designed which allowed two seperate single pole power supplies to be used for Digital logic and the op-amps. A dual 0-30V DC power supply has been used for both digital and analogue circuitry.
-\subsubsection*{Logic Power Supply}
+\subsubsection{Logic Power Supply}
The AVR Butterfly runs off $3V < V_{cc} < 4.5V$ DC. Since $V_{cc}$ was also used as the reference voltage for the ADCs and DAC output, it was desirable that $V_{cc}$ be kept constant, despite the absolute level of the power supply. A $3.3V$ voltage regulator has been used for this purpose. The capacitor further smooths the output by shorting high frequency fluctuations to ground.
When the DAC/ADC box was first constructed $V_{cc}$ was supplied by three $1.5V$ batteries. However, due to higher than expected power usage, and the unreliability of the voltage regulator as the input voltage fell below $4V$, inputs for an external power supply were later added.
The buffer amplifier ensures that negligable current can flow from the power supply into the logic and ADC circuits, whilst the capacitor removes high frequency fluctuations of the power supply relative to ground.
-\subsection*{DAC Output}
+\subsection{DAC Output}
A commercial DAC board was used to produce the DAC output. The Microchip MCP4922 ET-Mini DAC is controlled by the AVR Butterfly using Motorola's Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) Bus. The software used to implement SPI between the MCP4922 and the AVR Butterfly is discussed in Appendix D.
The ET-Mini DAC can only be powered off $3V$ to $5V$. Using $V_{cc} = 3.3V$ means that the DAC output cannot exceed $V_{cc} = 3.3V$. For TCS, energies of up to $15eV$ are required, so amplification of the DAC output was clearly necessary. A simple non-inverting amplifier with a manually adjustable gain was used to amplify the DAC output by a factor of three. This output was then used to control a laboratory power supply to produce the full range of initial energies.
-\subsection*{RS-232 Communications}
+\subsection{RS-232 Communications}
The AVR Butterfly features an onboard USART, which can be used both for programming and communication with the ATMega169 processor. The RS-232 communications requires only three wires; Recieve (RX), Transmit (TX) and a common ground.
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