Instrument Control

The network-based NICOS control system was originally developed at the MLZ for neutron scattering instruments. The main objectives include flexibility, user-friendliness, ease of maintenance and reusability.

With NICOS, scientific instruments can be controlled remotely both via interactive interfaces (GUI, command line) and via a script system. The NICOS user scripts are written in Python with a few minor restrictions. This approach enables the creation of very flexible scripts for complex problems and at the same time simple, interactive use.

NICOS has a large developer community and controls instruments at facilities around the world:

• MLZ (Garching, Germany)
• PSI (Villigen, Switzerland)
• ESS (Lund, Sweden)
• LAHN (Laboratorio Argentino De Haces De Neutrones, Buenos Aires, Argentina)
• Materials Growth & Measurement Laboratory at Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic)
• ISIS (Didcot, UK)
• Idaho National Lab (Idaho Falls, USA)
• Neutron Radiography Facility (NRF) of Oregon State University (Corvallis, USA)
• X-Ray Center of TU Wien (Vienna, Austria)

As a distributed system, Tango and its extension Entangle form the basis for instrument control. In cooperation with the servers, they are essentially responsible for the abstraction of the hardware and its control in order to enable a standardised view of the hardware. This facilitates interchangeability and reusability, which is particularly advantageous during commissioning, troubleshooting and repair.

PILS stands for ‘PLC Interface Layer Specification’ and refers to the protocol used on the MLZ for communication with programmable logic controllers (PLCs).

The group supports the sample environment in the application of the Sample Environment Communication Protocol (SECoP) through the development and use of the Frappy framework.

Not all components on an instrument are constantly used for carrying out experiments. These include, for example, sample environments such as cryostats, ovens or magnets. So-called control boxes are used to support the instrumentresponsibles in the relatively simple integration of these components into the control system. These boxes are developed in close co-operation with the Sample Environment group. In addition to the hardware required to control the devices in the sample environments, the control boxes also contain the necessary infrastructure for integration into the instrument control system