Teledyne Photon Machines - Chromium 2.2 Revision History
INSTALLATION
You do not need to uninstall the old version first – in fact, the old version will need to be present if
you are upgrading from a prior version. You can uninstall the old version afterwards if you wish.
You can obtain the Chromium 2.2 updater program at http://www.teledynecetac.com/support/software. If
you are currently running an older version of Chromium (prior to the initial Chromium 2.0 release), the
update may not work and will display an error message. Contact Teledyne Photon Machines and we will
assist you in manually upgrading your system. The updater program does not overwrite any existing
files, so all your data files, images etc... are preserved, and you can still run the old version.
If this is your first update since Chromium 2 or an older version, please read the last
section of this file, titled Initial Upgrade (From a Version Prior to Chromium 2.1).
REVISION HISTORY
This document contains a brief summary of new features and bug fixes.
For a more detailed description of all new features, please see the Chromium 2.2
Software Addendum document. It can be found on the desktop, or from the Windows
Start button, in the All Programs, Photon Machines Inc, Chromium 2.2 folder.
JANUARY 2017 CR2.2 RELEASE – BUG FIXES AND CHANGES
• Fixed a memory leak issue that could cause “out of memory” errors on some systems when the
software runs for an extended period of time.
• Added new users manual to the software install.
• Added the laser warmup capability for the Analyte HE laser ablation system.
• Added the ability to set the desired Fluence at the sample for the Cetac LSX213 systems.
• Added or fixed the following remote control commands: SCANS.MS_TRIGOUT,
SCANS.MS_TRIGIN?, LASER.MODE (1shot parameter), LASER.SHUTTER, and
SCANS.SCAN_SETTINGS. For a full description of commands, please see the Remote Control
Interface PDF document.
• Changed the layout slightly in the Run Scans window, to eliminate the need of a vertical scroll bar.
• Changed the decimal precision of the attenuator table Transmission Factor from 2 to 3, allowing more
accurate energy calibration on the Analyte HE systems.
• Fixed a problem with the laser not firing when using Dosage mode on a line scan that has only one
laser shot.
• Fixed a problem with setpoints on mass flow controllers not changing when using the up/down spin
button controls in the Gas Control window. Also fixed the units display for low-flow Mass Flow
Controllers.
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Chromium 2.2 Revision History
Teledyne Photon Machines - Chromium 2.2 Revision History
• Fixed the eQC Run process, such that if it changes the Transmission Factor, it saves that new value to
the data file. In the previous versions, exiting and restarting Chromium would restore the old
Transmission Factor value, rather than the updated value.
• Force the laser shutter closed when the software first starts.
• Mass Spec trigger controls are no longer displayed for those systems that do not have Mass Spec
triggers.
• Removed the shutter control from Libra Femto laser systems, as they do not have an external shutter.
• The Motor Troubleshooter now allows logging.
NOVEMBER 2016 CR2.2 RELEASE - NEW FEATURES AND CHANGES
• Stage Vision – Utilizes a special image registration algorithm to improve stage positioning accuracy.
• Video Image Enhancement – Utilizes a special image processing algorithm to improve contrast,
sharpness and detail of video images. This process also improves Mosaic images.
• Added an option for Laser Warmup while running scans on Excite and G2 systems. Slightly modified
the Laser Warmup procedure on LSX213 systems. This Warmup option fires the laser for several
seconds (with the shutter closed) prior to running the scan, in order to allow the laser energy to
stabilize.
NOVEMBER 2016 CR2.2 RELEASE – BUG FIXES
• Fixed time estimates for Lines and Grids of spots. The time estimates counted the Pattern Start and End
Pause values one to many times. Also, the logic for the option to tread a Line or Grid as individual
spots was backward, so
• Fixed a bug in running Lines and Grids of spots that doubled the time actually Paused for Pattern Start
and Pattern End.
• Fixed a bug in the Position Review windows Auto Focus procedure that did not always properly record
the best focus position. This bug was introduced in the August 2016 release.
SEPTEMBER 2016 CR2.2 RELEASE - NEW FEATURES AND CHANGES
• Image Import allows selection and import of multiple image files at one time.
• "Slit" type apertures (squares and rectangles) are now exported to the Iolite data file, allowing for
appropriate shaped laser spots when using the Iolite Cellspace feature.
• Added new remote control commands to:
query the laser interlocks status (LASER.INTERLOCK_LIST?)
query the XYZ positions of a scan (SCANS.POS_LIST? <scan number>)
query the number of spots in a scan (SCANS.SPOT_COUNT? <scan number>)
save the current experiment to a file (SCANS.SAVE_EXP <filename>)
• Added the ability to mirror the X axis when importing scans from a CSV type file.
• Most file Save and Recall dialog windows now "remember" the last used path, when using folders
other than the default. The remembered paths are retained until the software is exited. The next time the
software is run, the Save and Recall dialogs will start from the default folders again.
• The Position Review window now allows selection of the starting scan (i.e. no longer forces the first
scan as the starting point).
• When importing a screen Layout file, the tab name is changed to match that of the imported file.
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Chromium 2.2 Revision History
Teledyne Photon Machines - Chromium 2.2 Revision History
• Screen layout tabs can now be renamed.
• During an eQC scan, the stages no longer move to the scan location, but just move to the eQC mirror
location.
SEPTEMBER 2016 CR2.2 RELEASE - BUG FIXES
• There was a change made in the window docking of Chromium 2.2 that resulted in some docking file
compatibility problems from Chromium 2.1. This is especially true if switching between 2.1 and 2.2.
This version should now recognize both file formats, and handle them accordingly.
• Fixed a bug saving and recalling light settings via the QuickSet buttons.
• A warning is displayed when trying to run eQC if an interlock is tripped.
• It was possible to corrupt some Default Scan Settings, by using the "Copy from Scan to Default
Settings" option. For example, if the settings were copied from a Spot type scan to the Defaults, and
then a Line scan was added, the Scan Speed parameter for the new Line scan could be invalid, because
the Scan Speed parameter is not used by the Spot scan. All setting fields are now validated when
copying scan settings.
JULY 2016 CR2.2 RELEASE - NEW FEATURES AND CHANGES
• Support for the Analyte HE, high energy excimer laser system.
• Support for the Cetac LSX 213 G2+ system.
• Addition of eQC energy monitor, which allows measurement of the energy at the sample.
• Ability to capture images of the scan area before and after ablating, during the Run Scan process.
• Added support for importing DCD files (really a csv file, but DCD is used by some lab equipment
software).
• Add the ability to Abort the Auto Focus process.
• Added new actions to the saved positions grid in the Move Stage dialog. There are now Move XY,
Move XYZ, and Move Z actions to easily execute those moves with one click.
• Added a setting to the Run Scans dialog for controlling the Trigger Out Delay. Changed the resolution
of the Trigger Out Delay to 0.1ms.
• Added feature to save an image at the start and end of each scan. The image file name is added to the
Data field for each scan in the Scan List. The View Data dialog can display these images. The View
Data dialog also now has Next and Prev buttons to step through the data for all scans in the list.
• Added the ability to save files in the .PNG format, from both the main window menu (File->Save
Image), and from the remote control SYS.SAVE_IMAGE command.
• Changed the Enable Laser and Open Shutter check-boxes into buttons for easier visibility and use.
• Changed the Run Scans dialog to show side-by-side panels instead of vertically stacked. This resolves
the issue of displaying the full window on monitors with lower vertical resolution.
• Changed the Chromium Update program for G2 systems so it creates the G2 Demag LaserSpotTables
from the existing table, instead of copying new files (which may not match the installed mask).
• Changed how Med and Out digital zoom/view buttons works -- Med now goes to 3X the video field of
view, OR 2/3rds the stage travel, whichever is less, while Out goes to 125% of the stage travel. (This is
mostly an improvement for Fusion systems.)
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Chromium 2.2 Revision History
Teledyne Photon Machines - Chromium 2.2 Revision History
JULY 2016 CR2.2 RELEASE - BUG FIXES
• Fixed a bug that resulted in the Run Scans dialog Trigger/Gas/Pause settings not displaying the settings
as they were recalled from an experiment file.
• Fixed help text for the measure tool, and for copy/drag highlighted scans.
• The Motor Moving progress window is no longer shown if the motor is already in position.
• Fixed an exception error that occurred when selecting scans via the mouse in the video area when the
Scan Settings window was hidden.
• Fixed a recently added bug in the Position Review dialog that prevented the XY re-positioning of a
spot or scan vertex while stepping through the scans.
• Fixed the Position Review dialog such that if the form is closed while Auto Focus or a stage move is in
progress, the process is aborted, and the window is closed without error.
• Fixed all dialog windows so they stay on top of the main form (do not get hidden behind the main
form).
• Fixed a bug in the filling of Area scans that could result in horizontal lines created from the edge of
Area scan all the way to the left edge of the sample cell (stage position 0 essentially).
• Fixed the "jumpy video" that occurs if a video image is dropped while the stages are moving.
• Fixed a bug that resulted in the Space Bar sometimes not toggling the Enabled state of highlighted
scans in the Scan List.
• Fixed a problem on G2 systems where the Demag Switch interlock "Tripped" position was treated as
an error condition when running with Qtegra.
• Fixed an error in calculating the scan run time for spots when Fire Laser During Scans is disabled.
• Fixed the Home Stages dialog so that it defaults to homing only the axes that need homing.
• Fixed an exception error that could happen on Lumina Laser systems, if the thermistor adjustment (R3)
was out-of-range. Added a warning message when this condition occurs.
• Fixed a problem that broke the SYS.SAVE_IMAGE remote control command.
AUG 5, 2015 CR2.1 RELEASE - NEW FEATURES
New Run Scan Features
• Z Step Size per Iteration (in the Run Scans window) allows stepping the Z axis between iterations
while ablating a scan.
• The Activate Trig Out button at the top of the Run Scans window will generate a trigger out signal to
the ICP-MS, as a means to test and verify the signal.
• The minimize button [-] in the upper right corner of the Run Scans title bar will “minimize” the dialog
and place it in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
• The Disable Limits check-box in the Run Scans window can be used to prevent stage stalls in labs with
high electrical noise (EMI – usually from vacuum pumps and other motors). The noise sometimes
penetrates the stage cables, and erroneously indicates a stage limit switch was hit, which halts the
stage.
• Iolite compatible data can now be generated for curves, multi-segment lines and raster scans.
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Chromium 2.2 Revision History
Teledyne Photon Machines - Chromium 2.2 Revision History
• Two fields have been added to the data section of saved experiment files: the lase time and distance of
each scan.
New Gas Flow Control Features
• The flow and pressure readings from mass flow controllers are now averaged to smooth out the
readings and reduce noise from transients.
• A warning is displayed if the difference between a mass flow set-point and its actual reading is too
high, indicating a potential problem in the gas supply.
New Scan Management Features
• The background color of the Scan List grid changes color between Preablation Pass Settings and
Ablation Pass Settings, making it easier to visually identify which settings tab is currently active.
• An Apply Settings window was added providing the ability to change individual scan parameters for a
group of scans (e.g. change the RepRate for all highlighted scans).
• When a single scan is highlighted, the length and run time of that scan are displayed along the bottom
line of the main view window.
• A group of scans can be moved together by highlighting the scans, then holding down the <Shift>> key
and dragging one of the scans from the group (all highlighted scans will move relative to the one being
dragged).
• A group of scans can be copied by highlighting multiple scans, then holding down the <Alt> key and
dragging one scan from the group. A copy is made of all scans in the group, and the copies follow the
mouse to their new location.
• Scans can be “snapped” to the horizontal or vertical axis by holding down the <Shift> key while
drawing the scan.
• For systems that have an XY aperture for generating rectangular laser spots, there is now a column in
the Scan List that shows the rotation angle of the aperture.
• The Tracking option of the main view window is turned off when the scrollbars are used to change the
viewing area. This behavior is not always obvious, so a pop-up message is shown as a reminder that
Tracking was turned off.
New Laser-Related Features
• There is now support for an optional motorized iris for generating round laser spots. Spots can be
generated at virtually any size from 1 micron to 156 microns.
• The G2 platform supports 2 demagnification levels (10X and 16X), resulting in 2 different sets of spot
sizes. Previous versions of software did not reflect the correct spot sizes for the 10X setting, so a
second spot table was added to support the 10X.
• The Laser Control window now displays the laser Voltage value using 2 digits of precision, for systems
using the ATL Excimer laser.
• For systems running an ATL laser in Partial Gas Exchange (PGE) mode, a reminder is displayed that
the premix gas cylinder valve needs to be open.
• For systems running a CO2 laser, the Max Power Limit can be used to limit the laser output energy if
the laser is capable of higher energy than is desired.
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Chromium 2.2 Revision History
Teledyne Photon Machines - Chromium 2.2 Revision History
• Chromium now supports the Light Conversion Ltd., Pharos femtosecond laser.
New Troubleshooting and Diagnostic Features
• A Motor Troubleshooter window has been added to help diagnose problems with stages and motors.
The troubleshooter will run a series of tests in an attempt to determine the source of a problem, and
then fix it.
• A system log viewer is now available to display the internal system log and diagnostic messages while
troubleshooting a problem.
AUG 5, 2015 CR2.1 RELEASE - BUG FIXES
File issues
• Fixed an issue where a corrupt configuration file could cause the system to think it had thousands of
interlocks, causing the software to load and run slowly.
• Fixed a problem where an old configuration file could get corrupted if the configuration file already
had a disabled device in it, and it was missing the laser trigger controller.
• Fixed a problem recalling notification settings when an email address or phone number had spaces or
other non-alphabetic characters in it.
• Fixed a problem exporting a composite image map that resulted in black lines on the image in the
exported file.
• Fixed problems saving and recalling spot sizes correctly for scans on a system using the XY aperture to
generate spots. The problem occurred when using non-square spot sizes, and the subsequent recall of a
saved experiment file resulted in square spot sizes (i.e. the original height dimension was lost).
Display issues
• Fixed a problem with auto-panning the view window when dragging a scan down or to the right.
• Fixed an issue with running scripts which show dialog boxes and the dialog boxes getting put behind
the app window.
• Fixed so the Run Scans dialog can't be dragged around the screen while scans are running, as that can
affect the execution of the scans. Since Windows blocks communication to the laser while the window
is being dragged, and if blocked long enough, the laser will enter a safety mode, and stop firing.
• Fixed a problem with switching to a new view tab/layout that would sometimes cause an exception
error to be thrown and resulting in the view not being saved or recalled properly.
Live Video Issues
• When camera drivers are updated or new software is installed, it is possible for the frame rate of the
camera to get set to a value which results in the system CPU getting overloaded. This release of the
software will automatically set the frame rate to the optimal value to avoid overloading the CPU.
• It is also possible for a camera to get reset to the wrong resolution when a camera driver is updated –
the software now checks for this and will display a warning message letting you know that the camera
resolution setting may need to be changed to the proper value.
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Chromium 2.2 Revision History
Teledyne Photon Machines - Chromium 2.2 Revision History
Scan Run Issues
• Improved the scan run time estimates.
Other issues
• Fixed a delay time problem when running the preablation pass of scans. The delay that had the problem
is the Pause setting in the Actions at End of Preablation Pass section of the Run Scans window. The
delay was being skipped over completely under some circumstances.
• Fixed so PMI energy meter is still found even if the firmware version number contains a letter at the
end.
• Fixed so XY-Theta rotation is maintained for spots exploded from a line of spots (for systems equipped
with a rotating XY aperture).
• The LASER.SPOTSIZE remote command now returns right away instead of waiting for the motor to
finish moving. See the “Chromium System Command Set” document for details (a copy of this
document is installed on the system when the software is installed).
• Fixed so when using the TCP/IP socket remote control interface, and the connection is first opened, the
GUI update is synchronized with the main thread to prevent possible corruption.
• Fixed a potential thread deadlock issue when there are multiple mass flow controllers present.
SEPTEMBER 17, 2014 CR2.1 RELEASE – NEW FEATURES AND FIXES
• Changed so the software no longer needs to run in Administrator mode.
• Fixed a problem with the camera settings for video mirror/flip being reversed.
• Fixed a problem with the “Grab Image” button not working after a motor move or scan was aborted.
• Fixed a problem with homing motors where a transient signal on a limit switch would cause the
homing procedure to never complete.
• Fixed a problem with calculating the estimated run time of a scan which would sometimes cause an
error when trying to run scans.
• Added a button to the “Move Sample” dialog to reset the XY stage position to (0,0).
AUGUST, 2014 CR2.1 RELEASE – NEW FEATURES
Scan List Toolbar Changes
• Some of the Scan list Save and Recall toolbar buttons have been combined, along with the addition of
some new data export options.
• A group of scans can be renamed by specifying a common prefix name (e.g. “MyTest-”), and a starting
number. Then an incremental sequence number is generated (e.g. “MyTest-15”, “MyTest-16”,
“MyTest-17”...).
• Scans displayed in the view area can also display a label, identifying them by their name or scan
number.
• The image as displayed in the main view area can be saved to a file via Export Composite Map.
Whatever is visible in the window is saved, including the video image, mosaics, and scans.
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Chromium 2.2 Revision History
Teledyne Photon Machines - Chromium 2.2 Revision History
• A group of scans can be moved together by highlighting the scans, then holding down the <Shift>> key
and dragging one of the scans from the group (all highlighted scans will move relative to the one being
dragged).
AUGUST 2014 CR2.1, RELEASE - BUG FIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS
• Added a short delay to allow the laser shutter to completely close before doing pre-ablation with the
laser output set to 0% (used to warmup the laser).
• Fixed the “Image Grab” button in the Images/Layers toolbar to fix a timing issue that could happen
with some cameras, resulting in no image being captured.
• Fixed issue with jogging XY stages when holding down the mouse button that would sometimes cause
the stages to back up and reverse or not accelerate smoothly.
• Fixed an issue that could sometimes cause the XYZ stages to not finish homing – made it so software
tries to move stages away from limits twice to work around electrically noisy limit switches.
• Fixed an issue where the “SCANS.SETTINGS” command would apply the settings to the pre-ablation
pass instead of the ablation pass if the pre-ablation pass tab was selected in the Scan List window. This
could sometimes affect the Qtegra laser plug-in operation.
• Fixed a problem where if you entered a system access code with leading zeroes, it didn't get saved
properly and you'd be prompted for the access code again the next time the software was started.
• Fixed a problem with the video “flip” and “mirror” settings not getting saved properly.
• Fixed the folder location used by Export Map Data. The Scan data file (*.scancsv) was saved to the
same folder as the executable file, rather than the selected folder. (Imported image files were correctly
saved to the specified folder.)
• Fixed a problem with image alignment where the alignment would get worse after each attempt to align
an image.
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Chromium 2.2 Revision History
Teledyne Photon Machines - Chromium 2.2 Revision History
INITIAL UPGRADE (FROM A VERSION PRIOR TO CHROMIUM 2.1)
No changes to files or settings should be required if you are updating from a previous version of Cr2.1,
but if you are upgrading from an older version (prior to the June '14 release of Cr2.1), then you should
review the following sections to be aware of some changes.
Configuration File Update
In Chromium 2.1, the format of the configuration file has changed. If you are upgrading from a version
prior to Chromium 2.1, then the first time the software is run, it will display a message indicating that it
needs to convert the existing Chromium 2.0 configuration file to the new format.
The new software requires the new configuration
file format, so canceling the update will exit the
software.
System ID
The next displayed message prompts for the system serial number and a
PIN number. These values are used to establish a secure internet
connection for use with the notification and remote control features
described later in this document. If you select Cancel now, you can enter
these values later from the Settings, System ID / Access Code menu. Note
that you must use the System Serial Number from the back of your system,
but the Cloud Access PIN number can be any number that you choose. You
may also uncheck the “Enable Cloud Access” checkbox to disable the
notification and remote control features.
Camera Orientation
On some systems, the upgrade process causes some camera settings
to revert to their default settings. If the camera image appears to be
upside down or backwards, you will need to change its orientation.
To do this, click the Settings button at the bottom left of the video
image area. From the pop up menu, select Video Capture Settings.
Then in the resulting window, check or uncheck the Flip Vertical
and/or Flip Horizontal check box, then close and restart the
software (restarting the software is recommended whenever
changing video capture settings).
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Chromium 2.2 Revision History