ALS SEC2020 User manual

Document Version: 2.9.0
Last Revision: April 2022
SEC2020 SPECTROMETER SYSTEM
USER’S GUIDE
- SOFTWARE -

SEC Spectra User's Guide Contents
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Contents
1. About SEC Spectra.........................................................................................................................4
2. Minimum System Requirements...................................................................................................5
3. Installing SEC Spectra ....................................................................................................................6
3-1. Before Installation................................................................................................................6
3-2. Installing SEC Spectra...........................................................................................................6
3-3. Installing Device Driver ........................................................................................................9
3-4. Removing SEC Spectra .......................................................................................................12
3-5. Installing .NET Framework 3.5 ...........................................................................................12
4. Getting Started with SEC Spectra................................................................................................16
4-1. Starting SEC Spectra...........................................................................................................16
5. Spectrum Measurement .............................................................................................................18
5-1. Before the Measurement...................................................................................................18
5-2. Creating a Spectrum Measurement...................................................................................18
5-3. Change Spectrum Acquisition Settings..............................................................................21
5-4. Graph Toolbar ....................................................................................................................22
5-5. Show Spectrum Data..........................................................................................................22
5-6. Saving a Spectrum..............................................................................................................22
5-7. Loading Saved Spectrum....................................................................................................22
5-8. Print and Preview of Spectrum..........................................................................................22
6. Absorbance Measurement..........................................................................................................23
6-1. Creating an Absorbance Measurement.............................................................................23
6-2. Absorbance of Sample .......................................................................................................29
6-3. Graph Toolbar Icons...........................................................................................................30
6-4. Saving Absorbance Measurement.....................................................................................32
7. Transmittance Measurement......................................................................................................34
7-1. Creating a Transmittance Measurement ...........................................................................34
7-2. Setting Measurement Conditions......................................................................................34
7-3. Transmittance of Sample ...................................................................................................35
7-4. Saving Transmittance Measurement .................................................................................36
8. Reflectance Measurement ..........................................................................................................37
8-1. Creating a Reflectance Measurement ...............................................................................37
8-2. Setting Measurement Conditions......................................................................................37
8-3. Reflectance of Sample .......................................................................................................38
8-4. Saving Reflectance Measurement .....................................................................................39
9. Strip Chart (Recording Specific Wavelength) ..............................................................................40

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9-1. Creating a Strip Chart Measurement.................................................................................40
9-2. Toolbar Icons......................................................................................................................44
9-3. Saving Strip Chart...............................................................................................................46
9-4. Loading Strip Chart File......................................................................................................47
10. Time Sequence Measurement (Recording Full Wanvelength)....................................................48
10-1. Time Sequence Window....................................................................................................48
10-2. Settings of Time Sequence Measurement.........................................................................49
10-3. Recording Time Sequence Measurement..........................................................................51
10-4. Loading and Playing Time Sequence File...........................................................................52
11. Relative Irradiance Measurement...............................................................................................54
11-1. Creating a Relative Irradiance Measurement ....................................................................54
11-2. Relative Irradiance Sample Measurement.........................................................................56
11-3. Saving Related Irradiance Measurement...........................................................................56
12. Concentration Measurement......................................................................................................57
12-1. Creating a Concentration Measurement ...........................................................................57
12-2. ConcentrationSettings .......................................................................................................58
12-3. Start Measuring the Concentration of Test Solution .........................................................62
12-4. Concentration Setting Icon ................................................................................................62
12-5. Saving the Concentration Measurement...........................................................................63
13. Trigger Mode Settings .................................................................................................................64
13-1. Enable Trigger Mode..........................................................................................................64
13-2. Trigger Off (Normal Mode) ................................................................................................66
14. Software Operation Methods .....................................................................................................67
14-1. File Menu ...........................................................................................................................67
14-2. View Menu.........................................................................................................................75
14-3. Application Settings ...........................................................................................................78
14-4. Default Layout....................................................................................................................85
14-5. Quick Adjustment Field......................................................................................................86
14-6. Graph Toolbar Icons...........................................................................................................87
14-7. Spectrum Data Pane ..........................................................................................................95
14-8. Saving Currrent Spectrum..................................................................................................98
14-9. Other Tool Bar Icons........................................................................................................ 102
15. Spectrum Correction Features ................................................................................................. 108
15-1. Electronic Dark Correction.............................................................................................. 108
15-2. Linearity Correction ........................................................................................................ 110
16. Contact Information ................................................................................................................. 111

SEC Spectra User's Guide 1. About SEC Spectra
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1. About SEC Spectra
SEC Spectra is a software program for the portable spectrometers system “SEC2020 Spectrometer
system”. It offers a wide variety of optical measurements including spectrum, absorbance, transmittance,
reflectance, Relative Irradiance, and concentration.

SEC Spectra User's Guide 2. Minimum System Requirements
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2. Minimum System Requirements
Before installing SEC Spectra, ensure that your computer meets the following minimum requirements:
Minimum System Requirements
Processor
1 GHz or higher
RAM
4 GB or higher
Hard Disk
100 MB or higher
Screen Resolution
1024 x 768 or higher
Operating System
Windows 10, Windows 11
Software
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5*
IMPORTANT：Versions other than Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 will not work.

SEC Spectra User's Guide 3. Installing SEC Spectra
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3. Installing SEC Spectra
3-1. Before Installation
Before installing SEC Spectra, ensure that you have the administrator privilege to the computer.
Note: If your PC does not have the Windows feature "Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5" installed, please
install it before installing SEC Spectra. The detailed procedure is described in "3-5. Installing .NET
Framework 3.5 ".
The spectrometer should not be connected to the PC during installation and uninstallation of SEC
Spectra.
3-2. Installing SEC Spectra
Insert the USB memory supplied with the device into your PC. There are two folders in the USB
memory, "Manual" and "SEC Spectra _ ** (software installer)". Open the "SEC Spectra_**" folder and
double-click "setup.exe" to start the program installation.
The setup wizard starts up. On the Welcome screen(Figure 3-1), click Next to proceed the installation.
Figure 3-1. Setup Wizard -- Welcome

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On the Select Installation Folder screen, select Everyone or Just me and click Next.
Figure 3-2. Setup Wizard -- Select Installation Folder
On the Confirm Installation screen, click Next.
Figure 3-3. Setup Wizard -- Installation Complete

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If a Windows security alert is displayed, select Run to proceed. Program will execute the installation,
please wait for a while.
Figure 3-4. Setup Wizard -- Installation Complete
When you see the Installation Complete window(Figure 3-5), it means that SEC Spectra has been
successfully installed. Click Close to finish.
Figure 3-5. Setup Wizard -- Installation Complete

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3-3. Installing Device Driver
Normally, device drivers for supported spectrometers will be installed with SEC Spectra as part of the
setup process. The device is usually displayed as "Taurus" in Device Manager (Figure 3-6).
Figure 3-6. Taurus is displayed correctly in Device Manager
The driver may not be installed due to unexpected errors. Figure 3-7 shows an example when the
device is not recognized correctly. It will be recognized as a device called "SCAN" with a "!" mark.
Figure 3-7. when the device is not recognized correctly
In that case, you need to install the driver manually.

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Follow the steps below to manually install the driver:
Connect the spectrometer to a computer and start "Device Manager". If you see an unknown icon like
"SCAN" as shown in Figure 3-7, right click on it and select "Update driver".
Figure 3-8. Select "Update driver" in Device Manager
Select "Browse my computer for driver software" and manually specify the folder containing the
"TAURUS" device driver and update the driver.
Figure 3-9. Select "Browse my computer for driver software" in Update Drivers

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After you have specified the path, click Next to finish driver installation.
Figure 3-10. Manually specifying the location of drivers on 64-bit Windows
Files for these drivers will be copied to the "Driver" folder under the installation path for SEC Spectra
during the setup. The default path will be:
C:¥Program Files¥ALS¥SEC Spectra¥Driver¥Taurus (32-bit systems)
C:¥Program Files (x86)¥ALS¥ SEC Spectra ¥Driver¥Taurus (64-bit systems)
When the driver is updated successfully, the following screen will be displayed, and click "Close" to
complete the manual installation of the driver.
Figure 3-11. Screen when the driver was successfully updated
If you need more detailed explanation, please contact us (16. Contact Information).

SEC Spectra User's Guide 3. Installing SEC Spectra
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3-4. Removing SEC Spectra
If you need to remove SEC Spectra, go to the Control Panel and follow the instructions below:
Open the Control Panel. Navigate to Programs and then Programs and Features. Select SEC Spectra
from the list, and then click Uninstall. The system will ask you to confirm the removal. After the
confirmation, you will see a message box showing the removal progress. When it is finished, this
message box will close.
Figure 3-12. The system is removing SEC Spectra (on Windows 10 systems)
3-5. Installing .NET Framework 3.5
Note: If the Windows function .NET Framework 3.5 is not installed on your computer, SEC Spectra
cannot be installed and executed normally.
3-5-1. Online Installation
If your PC is connected to the network, open the "DotNetFX35" folder in the USB memory, click on the
file "dotnetfx35.exe", and follow the on-screen instructions to install the .NET Framework 3.5.
Figure 3-13. Installing .NET Framework 3.5 components
After the installation is complete, click Close to finish the installation.

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Figure 3-14. .NET Framework 3.5 installation complete
3-5-2. Offline Installation
Online installation is recommended. If your PC is not connected to the network, you can try offline
installation of .NET Framework 3.5 by following method.
①Open the "DotNetFX35"--"OffLine NET35" folder in the USB memory and copy the file "netfx3.cab"
to the Windows system folder (C: ¥ Windows). If the message "Administrator privileges are required"
is displayed *, click Continue.
Figure 3-15. Copy files into a Windows system folder
Figure 3-16. Click "Continue"
Note: If you have any questions about "Administrator authority", please contact your system administor.

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②Right-click the file "OffLine Install NET35.bat" in the "OffLine NET35" folder and select Edit.
Figure 3-17. Open file from editCopy the second line.
Figure 3-18. Copy the second line.
③Right click on "Start " icon , click on "Command Prompt (Admin)".
Figure 3-19. Open "Command Prompt"

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④The "Administrator: Command Prompt" window will open.
Figure 3-20. "Administrator: Command Prompt" screen
⑤Paste the content copied in ③after "C: ¥ WINDOWS ¥ system32>". Press Enter key to install.
Figure 3-21. "Administrator: Command Prompt" execution screen
⑥The message "Operation completed successfully." is displayed and the offline installation is complete.
Close the screen and exit.
⑦Now, you can install SEC Spectra software.
Note: Please also refer to the official Microsoft website for installing .NET Framework 3.5.

SEC Spectra User's Guide 4. Getting Started with SEC Spectra
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4. Getting Started with SEC Spectra
4-1. Starting SEC Spectra
A shortcut is created on your desktop when the SEC Spectra is installed.
Figure 4-1. SEC Spectra program shortcut on the desktop
Double-click the shortcut to launch the SEC Spectra.
4-1-1. If you connect the spectrometer first…
If you connect the spectrometer to your computer before starting SEC Spectra, the Spectrum_0 will be
displayed automatically under the default settings of the connected spectrometer.
Figure 4-2. The spectrometer is connected when the SEC Spectra is started

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4-1-2. If the spectrometer is not connected
When the spectrometer is not connected, after starting the program, the following screen will be
displayed.
Figure 4-3. The spectrometer is not connected when the SEC Spectra is started
Next, connect the spectrometer to the computer. SEC Spectra initializes the device. Measurement is
possible when initialization is completed. When the following screen appears, it means that SEC Spectra
is ready for measurement.
Figure 4-4. SEC Spectra is ready for measurement

SEC Spectra User's Guide 5. Spectrum Measurement
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5. Spectrum Measurement
SEC Spectra supports a wide range of measurements using the SEC2020 spectrometer system,
including Spectrum, Absorbance, Transmittance, Reflectance, Concentration and Relative Irradiance. All
measurements start with a Spectrum measurement. This chapter describes how to create basic
Spectrum measurements. The following chapters describe other measurement methods based on the
Spectrum measurements in this chapter.
5-1. Before the Measurement
Before starting various measurements, you should set the measurement equipment. When measuring
absorbance, secure the spectrometer, light source and cuvette holder on the platform, and connect a
fiber collimator between the spectrometer and the cuvette holder. For details of the method of setting
the measuring device, please refer to "SEC2020 Spectrometer System User's Guide - Device -".
5-2. Creating a Spectrum Measurement
To create a spectrum measurement, select Spectrum from the Measurement menu to open the New
Spectrum window, as shown in the following:
Figure 5-1. Selecting Spectrum from the Measurement menu
Note: If you start the SEC Spectra software with the spectrometer connected to your PC, a spectrum
measurement will be created automatically. Refer to "4-1-1. If you connect the spectrometer first…".

SEC Spectra User's Guide 5. Spectrum Measurement
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On the New Spectrum--Live Spectrum Settings window, select a source device (identified by its serial
number). Then, enter an integration time (default: 50 ms, i.e. the exposure time for the light sensor) and
a wavelength range to display on the X-axis (default: 200 nm~1025 nm, the range in the parentheses
indicates the range supported by the selected device).
Then, click Next.
Figure 5-2. New Spectrum - Live Spectrum Settings

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On the Display Settings window, specify whether to display the new spectrum curve in a new or an
existing window. If this is the first spectrum measurement you create, you can only select a new window.
This window also allows you to specify a name for the window, as well as a title and a color for the
spectrum curve.
To specify a color, click the color patch to the right of Graph Color and select the desired color.
You may simply leave the default names unchanged. When all settings are done, click OK.
Figure 5-3. New Spectrum - Display Settings