Category Archives: microCMA

RBD Software Windows Operating System Compatibility (February 2024)

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Microsoft Windows General Support

All of RBD’s software products (AugerScan/AugerMap for PHI Upgrades, Actuel for the 9103 USB Picoammeter, and CMapp for the microCMA Compact Auger Analyzer) are compatible with the latest version of Microsoft Windows (as of this post, Windows 11).

In general, RBD warranty supports all versions of Windows supported by Microsoft, which are currently Windows 10 and 11. We cannot guarantee support for previous versions, however all our software products are functionally compatible with Windows 7 through 11 with a few exceptions, and we can usually support Windows 7-8.

RBD maintains archives for versions of software compatible with even older operating systems.

Please keep in mind that for any legacy version of RBD software, any newer features and subsequent bug fixes will be missing.

Lifecycle FAQ – Windows | Microsoft Learn

Details for RBD’s Software Applications

PHI / Perkin Elmer System Upgrades (AugerScan and AugerMap)

Minimum Windows Version Recommended: Windows 7

RBD maintains versions of AugerScan and AugerMap that are compatible with Windows XP. We can provide versions that may be compatible with Windows 95 and 98, however driver support may not be possible, depending what interface cards are used in the upgrade.

For RBD 147 Interface Cards in the PCI format, drivers are available for Windows XP, and Windows 7-11 32 and 64 bits.

For RBD 147 Interface Cards in the PCI format, drivers are available for Windows 7-11, 32 and 64 bits.

9103 USB Picoammeter

Minimum Windows Version Recommended: Windows 10

RBD maintains versions of the Actuel application for the 9103 that are compatible with Windows XP. There are no versions available for earlier operating systems.

(The 9103 USB Picoammeter itself is compatible with any operating system supported by the FTDI USB drivers if you chose to code/script your own custom application)

microCMA Compact Auger Analyzer

Minimum Windows Version Recommended: Windows 10

CMapp for the microCMA Compact Auger Analyzer is currently only compatible with Windows 10. While older versions may run on Windows 7 – 8, it is highly recommended that these are not used, as subsequent versions provide much better safety mechanisms for hardware control.

As always, contact RBD here for any questions you may have or versions of software you do not see available on the website.

Using the CMapp Extended Conditioning Feature for the microCMA

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CMapp (software for the microCMA) versions 1.2 and greater now have a feature which allows for extended conditioning of the integrated 3kV electron gun.

To access this feature, first make sure that the Beam Voltage and Filament Current in the Electron Gun Controller are both turned off.

Open the conditioning dialog box by selecting the System / Conditioning… menu command or by pressing the Conditioning Icon on the task bar. Next, follow these steps:

Conditioning Icon
CMapp Conditioning Dialog
CMapp Conditioning Dialog
  1. Check the Filament Degas box and set the time in minutes that you want the filament current to ramp up. For new installations the degas filament current value is imported from the factory properties file and can be set for a time of 60 minutes. After the electron gun has been fully conditioned you can reduce the Filament Degas Time to as short as 5 minutes.

  2. Next check the Beam Conditioning box and set the starting voltage to 0 and the ending voltage to 3000. For new installations this can be set to 120 or 180 minutes. That is how long it will take to bring the beam voltage all the way up. After the electron gun has been fully conditioned you can reduce the Beam Conditioning Time to as short as 5 minutes, but 20 or 30 minutes is the recommended minimum Beam Conditioning Time.

  3. Next check the Filament On box. Checking this will keep the filament on while the beam voltage is being ramped up. This helps to condition the electron gun by letting the heat from the filament keep the electron gun warm.

  4. Make sure that the Multiplier Conditioning box is not checked and then check the Extended Conditioning box. If the Multiplier Condition box is checked then the Extended Conditioning box is grayed out.

  5. With the Extended Conditioning box checked, enter the amount of time that you would like to let the electron gun sit with the filament current on and the beam voltage at 3kV.  Typically, this time is set to 120 to 180 minutes.

  6. Press the Start button and the Conditioning routine will ramp up the filament, then ramp up the beam voltage, then hold the beam voltage at 3000V and keep the filament ON until the time runs down.

The Extended Conditioning feature helps to outgas the electron gun and condition the electron gun ceramics which in turn helps with the stability of the electron beam and data signal to noise.

Learn more about Auger Electron Spectroscopy and RBD’s microCMA.

CMapp for the microCMA Version 1.0 Released

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RBD has released Version 1 of CMapp – the data collection, analysis and control application for the microCMA. Of course, this is not the first version of CMapp available, but we had a set of features in mind for Version 1 that would truly represent the most feature-complete version of CMapp. Of course, this won’t be the last version – we’re already busy adding new features and working on a completely redesigned application for a future release.

Download the latest version here.

Cmapp Version 1

Electron Gun Control Pane

The key new feature in CMapp 1.0 is the addition of the Electron Gun Control Pane, which replaces the dialog window. All of the electron gun controls are always available on-screen in the familiar layout. There’s no longer a need to move or minimize a window in order to view acquisition data.

CMapp Electron Gun Control

Other Features and Changes

CMapp now offers the ability to differentiate and smooth data while acquiring. This is invaluable for getting important peak information in real-time, and removes the need to wait until the end of an acquisition to determine if the parameters are resulting in useful / expected data.

The latest version of CMapp also includes the ability of the edit the Wehnelt setpoints in the Hardware properties menu. Normally these values are factory set, but now they are easier to adjust without putting undo “stress” on the filament by ramping the beam voltage from 2 to 3 kV before having ballpark Wehnelt values.

Lastly, some minor changes have been made to improve the UI when working with Windows 11.