aotf-config — Tools for Gooch & Housego AOTFs

This package contains a set of Python tools for working with the Gooch & Housego R6404 frequency synthesizer/AOTF driver. These can be installed with setup.py. The package includes,

• The gooch_housego Python module which provides programmatic access to the driver
• aotf-ui: A small Gtk+ interface for configuring the driver's parameters.
• aotf-config: A command-line utility for configuring the driver's parameters
• A set of udev rules (99-gooch-housego-aotf.rules) to give the AOTF driver the /dev/ttyUSB.aotf name

aotf-ui

The aotf-ui utility exposes the basic functionality of the synthesizer.

aotf-config

The status subcommand shows the current configuration of the device,

$ aotf-config status
channel 1: off, freq=66.927 MHz, amp=1023, phase=   0
channel 2: off, freq=69.850 MHz, amp= 190, phase=   0
channel 3: off, freq=69.435 MHz, amp=1023, phase=   0
channel 4: off, freq=61.221 MHz, amp=  28, phase=   0
channel 5: off, freq=49.423 MHz, amp=1023, phase=   0
channel 6: off, freq=66.700 MHz, amp=  50, phase=   0
channel 7: off, freq=75.240 MHz, amp=  10, phase=   0
channel 8: off, freq=78.190 MHz, amp=  13, phase=   0

The set subcommand allows parameters to be modified. For instance, we can set the phase, amplitude and frequency of channel 7,

$ aotf-config set --channel=7 --phase=100 --amp=80 --freq=75.240
channel 7: off, freq=75.240 MHz, amp=  80, phase= 100

and then enable channel 1,

$ aotf-config set -c1 --on
channel 1:  on, freq=66.927 MHz, amp=1023, phase=   0

Thorlabs PM-100

In addition to the AOTF functionality, the package includes some useful utilities for use with the Thorlabs PM-100 power meter. These include,

• power-time-series.py: A utility which spits out a time series of power measurements from the PM-100
• aotf-freq-scan: A utility which measures power while sweeping the frequency of the AOTF. Useful for finding laser lines.
• aotf-power-scan: A utility which measures power while sweeping the excitation amplitude of the AOTF. Useful for characterizing throughput.
• A set of udev rules to allow unprivileged users to access the PM-100 (thorlabs-pm100.rules)