Wasatch Photonics XL Series User manual

WP Series-XL Quick-Start Guide
using Andor Solis
For Wasatch Photonics Series-XL Spectrometers
Revision 1.1
May 6, 2022

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Contents
Unpacking the Spectrometer 2
Power Supply Compatibility 7
Assembling the Spectrometer 7
Installing Andor Solis 12
Operating Andor Solis 12
Temperature Control 12
Integration Time 12
Graph Navigation 13
Wavelength Calibration 13
Wavenumber Axis 15
Background Measurement 16
Signal Measurements 16
Background Correction 17
Video Mode (Continuous Acquisition) 18
Saving Data 18
Troubleshooting 19
More Information 19

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1. Unpacking the Spectrometer
You should find the following items when you unpack your Series-XL spectrometer:
Unpacked XL components
The six cables can be identified as follows:
Shutter Power Cable (3-pin connector)

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Shutter Power Supply (12V)
Andor Power Supply (5-pin plug, mixed voltages)
Andor Power Cable (standard PC cable)

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Shutter Cable
USB 2.0 Cable (standard-A to standard-B)
Also take a moment to familiarize yourself with the connectors on the spectrometer and Andor camera.

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Andor camera connectors (shutter, left; power, right; USB, bottom)
Spectrometer SMA connector and cap

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Spectrometer shutter connectors (cable, left; power, right)
1.1. Power Supply Compatibility
Note that different models of Andor camera ship with different power supplies, and those are not
necessarily interchangeable, even when they share a common connector. For example:
Camera Model
iDus 416
Newton DU940P-BU
Power Supply
PCM50UT05
T3404AD
Pin 1
+5V (5A max)
+5V @ 3.5A
Pin 2
N/C
+7.5V @ 4A
Pin 3
0VDC (COMMON)
0VDC (COMMON)
Pin 4
+15V (2A max)
+15V @ 100mA
Pin 5
-15V (0.8A max)
-15V @ 100mA
2. Assembling the Spectrometer
Now that we can identify each of the cables and connectors, let’s assemble the system.
Start by connecting the two power cables to their respective power supplies.

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Assembled Andor Power Cable
Assembled Shutter Power Cable
Now connect the Shutter Cable from the Andor camera to the spectrometer’s shutter.

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Connected Shutter Cable
Connected Shutter Cable (camera end)

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Connected Shutter Cable (spectrometer end)
Now let’s assemble the system. Connect the assembled Shutter Power Cable to the spectrometer.
Connect Shutter Power Cable to spectrometer
Connect the assembled Andor Power Cable to the camera..

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Connect Andor Power Cable to camera
Finally, connect the USB cable’s standard-B connector to the Andor camera.
Fully-assembled Series-XL spectrometer
You now have a fully-connected Wasatch Photonics XL spectrometer ready for connection to mains
power and your computer.

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3. Installing Andor Solis
Solis-S is a commercial spectroscopy application sold by Andor, the company who produces the iDus
cameras used in Wasatch Photonics XL spectrometers. To obtain a copy, contact Andor’s sales team
here:
https://andor.oxinst.com/products/solis-software/solis-s
The current installer may be downloaded here (site registration required):
https://andor.oxinst.com/downloads/view/andor-solis-64-bit-4.32.30065.0
4. Operating Andor Solis
4.1. Temperature Control
The current detector temperature is shown in the lower-left corner of the screen.
Clicking it brings up the temperature control panel.
The recommended temperature setpoint (e.g. -60°C) should be displayed, and applied automatically at
launch. Users are advised to allow the temperature to stabilize at the recommended value before
taking data.
4.2. Integration Time
To set the integration time, click the “Run-time gating” button on the toolbar.

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This will bring up a Run Time dialog allowing you to set the exposure time in seconds (400ms example
shown).
4.3. Graph Navigation
When viewing spectra, note these three icons on the button bar.
Rescale graph in both axes (show all data)
Rescale graph in Y-axis (counts)
Auto-rescale graph in Y-axis (or press F6)
4.4. Wavelength Calibration
XL spectrometers natively collect data in “pixel space.” To plot your data against a calibrated x-axis in
wavelengths (nm), you’ll need to load an external configuration file providing the (pixel, wavelength)
mappings. Each XL spectrometer ships with a factory-calibrated configuration file for Andor Solis,
though you can easily generate your own using emission or Raman sources.
From the Calibrate menu, select “Manual Calibration”.

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In the subsequent dialog, select “Load”.
Navigate to the directory where you saved your Andor configuration file (will end in .cfg).
Make sure the label is set to “Wavelength” and Units “nm”. Polynomial order should be “(3) Cubic” for
standard configurations. When you have verified the settings, click “Calibrate” to apply the calibration
to future spectra.

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4.5. Wavenumber Axis
If you’re using a Raman system, calibrating your x-axis in wavelengths is necessary but not sufficient;
what you really want is an axis in wavenumbers, measured in Raman shifts from the laser excitation
wavelength.
To configure that, go back to the Calibrate menu and choose “Change Units”.
Change the x-axis label to “Raman shift” and Units to “cm⁻¹”. Make sure the wavelength of your laser is
entered into the “Rayleigh Wavelength (nm)” (325nm excitation shown). When the values are entered,
click “Calibrate.”

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4.6. Background Measurement
Take a background measurement using the Acquisition menu, or press Ctrl-B.
This will automatically close, then re-open the internal shutter for the duration of the measurement.
4.7. Signal Measurements
After taking a background, take “signal” measurements using the “Take Signal” toolbar button, or press
F5.
The “signal” spectrum will then be graphed (cyclohexane shown). Note that at this point, it has not yet
been dark-corrected…see next section on Setting Data Type.

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4.8. Background Correction
To enable background correction (i.e. dark subtraction), you need to change the “Data Type” of the Y-
axis. You can do that using the Acquisition → Data Type Setup.
Change the current Data Type to “Counts (Bg corrected)”.

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4.9. Video Mode (Continuous Acquisition)
To “stream” updated spectra continuously to screen, use “Take Video” rather than “Take Signal.”
4.10. Saving Data
Solis can save data in several formats. The two most useful / convenient for data interchange with
ENLIGHTEN are .asc (two-column delimited ASCII data, essentially a .csv) and .spc (GRAMS format).
To save spectra in either format from Solis, use File → Export, then select the appropriate file type.

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Note that Solis will store the data with the x-axis currently displayed on the chart, so if you want the
data to be saved with a wavelength or wavenumber axis, be sure to configure that first using the
“Calibration” instructions above.
5. Troubleshooting
Some users have encountered the following error code upon installing Solis on their computer.
A solution has been documented on the internet here, and Wasatch testing confirms this resolves the
issue.
6. More Information
There is so much more you can do with your Wasatch Photonics Series-XL spectrometer!
For additional information, see the following resources. (links current at writing)
●ENLIGHTEN 3 Manual
●Wasatch Photonics software drivers
●Andor Solis-S Learning Centre
●Andor Solis Brochure
●Andor iDus Hardware Guide

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