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fluotime250:acquiring_lifetime_decays_in_easytau_2_with_the_ft250

Acquiring Lifetime Decays in EasyTau 2 with the FT250

Software Tutorial

Version 0.3

Safety Issues

  • Your FluoTime 250 is a system of laser class 3.
  • Make sure to comply with laser safety regulations.

Summary

This tutorial shows step-by-step, how to acquire a lifetime decay with a FT250, using the EasyTau Wizard in EasyTau 2. It explains the usage of the EasyTau 2 Software using version 2.0.

Preparation

  • Make sure that the correct laser (e.g. LDH-P-C-375B) is in place and connected to the laser driver (e.g. PDL 820).
  • Put the sample cuvette in the sample chamber (here, a solution of anthracene in ethanol will be used).
  • Turn on the laser driver and unlock the laser.
  • Switch on the FluoTime 250.
  • Start the EasyTau 2 software and wait until the status on the bottom right switches from yellow to green:
FT250 Initilization
FT250 Online
  • Load a workspace or create a new one by clicking ‘File’ → ‘New Workspace’
  • After loading or creating a new workspace, the name of the workspace is displayed in the top line of the window (here, the workspace is called ‘Demo’)
Easy Tau 2 window after creating a workspace, with the FT250 switched on
  • Insert the polarizer into the beampath. It will be set by the decay wizard to the Magic Angle as shown below:
Polarizer set to Magic Angle indicated by the “M”

PLATZHALTER: FOTO ODER ZEICHNUNG MIT RICHTIGER POSITION DES POLARISATORS

Start the Wizard and Perform a Measurement

  • start the ‘Lifetime Decay’ Wizard by clicking on the corresponding icon:

  • The Decay Wizard-window opens:
Graphical User Interface of the Decay Wizard
  • Enter information about the sample and the solvent in the “Sample”-Tab (in this example: Anthracene solved in Ethanol).
  • Additional information about the measurement or the sample may be stored in the “Comment”-Field:
The field for entering Sample name, solvent and additional information
  • Select the right excitation source (here an LDH-375 is chosen).
  • Select the right Emission-Filter (a CG400 Longpass-Filter in this example, this depends on the sample and filter configuration):
Measurement Parameters
  • Note: For systems equipped with a monochromator the detection wavelength has to be chosen. ◦ In case that the emission spectrum of the sample is unknown, it is possible to perform a fast spectral scan to find the wavelength emitting with the highest intensity by clicking the ‘Peak search’ - Button. A fast scan is then performed and the wavelength with the highest intensity measured will be automatically chosen as detection wavelength.
Measurement parameters for systems equipped with monochromators
  • Switch to the “Optimize Parameters” - page by clicking the according button:

  • Click the “Start Optimization” - Button

  • After the optimization procedure the count rate monitor should show a count rate within the green range.

  • Go to the “Acquire Decay” page. The decay is automatically measured, until 10000 photons in the peak channel have been counted. If you want to choose a different stop condition, change it and restart the measurement.

  • After the acquisition of the decay the window looks like this:

  • Switch to the “IRF Setup” page by clicking the ‘IRF Setup’ - Tab Button.
  • The detection filter will be automatically removed for the IRF measurement.

  • Switch off the Laser by turning the key on the laser driver
  • open the lid of the sample chamber
  • Remove your sample and replace it with a scatter sample (e.g. a Ludox solution)
  • Place the lid again
  • Turn the laser back on by turning the key of the laser driver to “Laser Active”
  • Click on ‘Start optimization’
  • Again, the best parameters for the measurement are being found (for the IRF optimization, only the attenuation is changed, while the repetition rate is kept the same as for the fluorescence decay measurement).
  • Click the ‘Acquire IRF’ - Button and thereby switch to the “Acquire IRF”-page.
  • The IRF is automatically measured, until 10000 photons in the peak channel have been counted.
  • The IRF is automatically measured and overlaid with the decay:

  • Click on ‘Save and Exit’.
  • The wizard page closes and the newly acquired decay file appears in the workspace column on the left:

Fit a Lifetime Decay with EasyTau 2

  • After the measurement, the data set is already highlighted and can be fitted by clicking on the ‘Fitting Window’ - button.

  • The fitting window opens showing the acquired data (blue: lifetime decay, red: IRF).

  • The ‘Exponential Reconvolution Model’ is already preselected. Other available fitting models can be selected in the list as shown below. For our example, we use the preselected “Exponential Reconvolution” model:

  • Depending on the chosen fitting model the parameter chart entries change.
  • Here a single exponential fit (nExp = 1) was chosen:

  • Click the ‘Fit’ - Button below the parameter chart
  • The calculated parameters (e.g. lifetime τ) will be shown in the parameter chart
  • The calculated fitting function will be shown as a black graph
  • Also the residuals are shown below the decay graph

  • The calculated fitting data can be saved by clicking the ‘Save’ - Button.

  • The data will then be stored in the according ‘Decay+IRF’ container.

Generating a Report

  • When the Fitting-Window is still open, a report can be generated after the fit. To generate a measurement report click on the ‘EasyTau Report’ - Button:

  • The report window opens. Concerning the report, there are 3 presets to choose from: “Brief”, “Custom” and “Complete”. The “Brief” Report e.g. does not contain the Fitting function. In the “Custom”-Report, you can decide, which elements can be seen. The Report contains a table with the fitting values, the decay+fit graph and outputs of other performed analysis.

  • It is possible to print or save the report by clicking the according button in the top left corner of the window. While “Print” allows for creating a pdf-document , if a pdf-prtiner is installed on the PC; the “Save” button stores the report in a html-format.
fluotime250/acquiring_lifetime_decays_in_easytau_2_with_the_ft250.txt · Last modified: 2018/08/23 18:16 by buschmann