CONSIDERATIONS IN THE SOFTWARE DESIGN OF AN ON-LINE DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM FOR RAMAN AND INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY

Author Institution: Western Regional Research LaboratoryA program for acquiring digital data from infrared and Raman instruments with an IBM 1800 time-sharing computer is described. The program employs limited programed spectrometer control and allows the instrument operator a high degree of flexibility regarding modification of run conditions or experiment repetition. Communication between the system and the instrument operator is accomplished by means of a CRT storage scope. Experiments are temporarily stored in disk memory and may be selectively destroyed or moved to magnetic tape by the operator at the control panel. Data may be recalled from disk memory to the CRT for visual inspection by the instrument operator. Examples will be shown of computer corrected Raman spectra plotted under computer control