Philip_Thomas_Starkey_Monash_PhD_thesis_2019.pdf (23.42 MB)
A software framework for control and automation of precisely timed experiments
thesis
posted on 2019-07-04, 08:29 authored by PHILIP THOMAS STARKEYAdvanced physics experiments require computer control systems to coordinate the apparatus on time scales from hours to nanoseconds. In this thesis I present a new software system, the labscript suite, for controlling modern ultracold atom experiments. Labscript prepares experiments from Python code and a list of parameters, generating instructions for heterogeneous hardware: pulse sequencers, analog input/output, and radio-frequency synthesis devices, which in turn execute the experiment in strict real time. Other software components automate scheduling of long-running experimental sequences, and the analysis of results. The labscript suite rapidly creates sophisticated experiments, flexibly analyses results, and archives the data.