MEASURE controls and acquires data from popular spectrophotometers. It provides a well supported alternative to the software supplied by instrument manufacturers.

NEW PRODUCT, NEW PRICE: MEASURE LT supports current (25/35/45) and previous (2/14/40, etc.) PerkinElmer UV/Vis spectrophotometers. It also supports Lambda Bio/XLS, Ocean Optics and StellarNet spectrometers. Please contact us today for further information.

 

Flash Video Demos

  • One Program - Many Instruments. It makes no sense to run 3 programs for 3 instruments when all 3 can be controlled by FilmStar. (1.25 min)

  • Why FilmStar MEASURE?  Automation! That's why! See how FilmStar interfaces to ancillary hardware and software (like Excel). (2 min)

  • FilmStar Graph Automation. Graphics for QA and reports that far exceed the capabilities of instrument manufacturers' DAQ software. (2.75 min)


MEASURE is highly integrated with FilmStar DESIGN and includes FilmStar development modules. The instruments listed below are currently supported.  Please contact us for information about other models. Please note that Hitachi and Shimadzu do not currently support third-party software. Our Hitachi support is only for older models.

Why buy MEASURE when you already have PerkinElmer or Cary software?

  • Automation...Object-level integration with other Windows software.
  • Easy-to-use software designed specifically for the optics industry.
  • Far more responsive e-mail and phone support.
  • Integration with industry-standard database technology that connects to your company's enterprise software.
  • Same software for different instruments. This lowers training costs and provides a consistent interface for measurements from various instruments.
PerkinElmer Perkin Elmer
Perkin-Elmer
Lambda 2/10/12/14/20/40/25/35/45, 9, 19, 650-1050 (URA, TDM); 580B-983G (IR); Spectrum GX, Spectrum One, New! Spectrum 100 Optica (FTIR)
Agilent (HP) 8453 Diode-Array
Varian Associates Cary 1-5 (100-500, 4000-6000i)
Hitachi U-3210, U-3410 (3200/3400)
Nicolet (Thermo Scientific) Instruments supported by OMNIC
Ocean Optics Instruments supported by SpectraSuite
Carl Zeiss MCS 500 Series
StellarNet Instruments supported by SpectraWiz

 

Agilent 8453 Spectrometer
Agilent 8453

Varian Cary 4000
Varian Cary 4000

Perkin Elmer Lambda 1050
PerkinElmer Lambda 1050

Perkin Elmer Spectrum 100
PE Spectrum 100 Optica

Ocean Optics
Ocean Optics

Perkin Elmer 983
Perkin-Elmer 983


The FilmStar MEASURE fee covers all supported instruments. Program modes include
  • Transmittance (optical density)
  • V (relative) reflectance
  • VW (absolute) reflectance

Data file types include

  • Sample...scan of coated part
  • Baseline...scan of black sample, usually 0%
  • Reference...transmittance of empty sample holder, reflectance of uncoated optic, etc.
  • Standard...known values corresponding to reference scan

Data files may be loaded from disk, scanned or replaced by constants where appropriate. During data acquisition results are plotted on-screen in spectrophotometer units (usually 0-100%); final reduced values are displayed in physical units. Spectra can be utilized in DESIGN and INDEX for inverse synthesis.

Scan range is defined by wavelength/ wavenumber minimum, maximum and interval. In addition a Wave List can be specified; this is useful for filters with varying characteristics in different bands, i.e. broad-band blocking in two regions and narrow band transmission in another. The Wave List is also useful for devices whose specifications are defined at particular laser wavelengths.

Supported formats for measured data files include

  • .csv, comma-separated values
  • .dx, J-CAMP spectroscopy format
  • .spc, Galactic Industries GRAMS format
  • .xls, Excel (Excel not required)


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PE Lambda 900 Settings

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PE 983G Settings

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PE Spectrum GX (2000) Settings

Instrument Settings

Scan methods are edited in MEASURE and uploaded as required. While the application software supplied by spectrophotometer manufacturers is not run during MEASURE operation, there are cases where manufacturer's system software is utilized:

  • Perkin Elmer's Spectrum software is required for GX (2000) initialization and setup. Configurations are stored as Setup Files (.set ). The name of the setup file is subsequently specified in MEASURE. Since MEASURE can change scan range, only a few Setup Files are required in practice. Spectrum Express is required for Spectrum 100 Optica.
  • Varian's WinUV is required for Cary 1-5 (100-500) operation. Only a minimum installation (Cary System + Scan application) is needed.
  • Perkin Elmer's UV Winlab 5.1 or newer is required for Lambda 650-1050 operation with Universal Reflectance Accessory.

PerkinElmer Lambda 18/19 is supported on Windows 2000/XP via a new PCI board and custom cable (contact us for details). The older Lambda 19 ISA board requires Windows 95/98 and an older computer (~400MHz). The Agilent 8453 version supports NI and HP IEEE-488 cards.

Information

Need someone to service older PerkinElmer instruments? We suggest you contact Mono Instruments.


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8453 Lamp Intensity Test

8453 Diagnostic Capabilities

The Agilent (HP) 8453 version of MEASURE includes numerous diagnostic capabilities. This reduces or eliminates the need to use ChemStation software for diagnostic purposes. 

Film Thickness Module
    

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Fringe counting for
moderately thick films

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FFT method for
very thick films

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FFT verification
window

The Film Thickness Module enables users to quickly and automatically obtain film thickness in cases where films are thick enough to display fringes. Fringe counting and FFT algorithms are available. Applications include lacquers and similar coatings. While film index must be known with reasonable accuracy, the substrate index is not required. A calibration routine compensates for any resulting errors.

The program is intended as an industrial tool and runs standalone or as ActiveX client or server. It includes FilmStar BASIC and can run MEASURE or be run from MEASURE. It can be used directly with our Ocean Optics or Zeiss ActiveX servers. It provides smoothing algorithms for dealing with noisy spectra. Test spectra (with noise added) can be generated in FilmStar DESIGN.

A free 16-bit version of the program is available. This lacks any automation features.

Get Acrobat Reader A paper Film Thickness of 'Thick Thin Films' by Spectroscopy (129K) presented at the SVC 1998 meeting in Boston can be downloaded and printed.

Copyright © 2010 FTG Software Associates
Last updated on August 31, 2010