Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer Control System Based On LabVIEW

The mass spectrometer measurement and control system is a system that can not onlyoperate and control the samples which need to be analyzed, but also can do the qualitativeand quantitative testing and analysis for the obtained data. A well-performed massspectrometer measurement and control system is vital for the mass analysis in geology,geochemistry, mineralogy, medicine, biochemistry, clinical diagnosis and agriculture. Tosolve the problem that present mass spectrometer measurement and control systems cannotefficiently control and measure the gas released by solid material, this paper provides aquadrupole mass spectrometer measurement and control system with cost-effectivity andfriendly interface based on LabVIEW.The hardware structure of the system are mainly consisted with three parts, which arethe circuit of controlling the pneumatic valves, the circuit of vacuum achievement and gasflow control, and the circuit of testing the gas in the vacuum, respectively.The software structure of the system is designed by using LabVIEW8.6of NationalInstruments as the development software, and is mainly consisted with three modules:(1) The module of valve control. In order to control the gas flow of the vacuum system,the switching on/off of ten pneumatic valves of the system is needed to be controlled. Theprogram of this module achieves such function by calling the data collection of VI suppliedby the acquisition card manufacturers. Admittedly, the physical simulation diagram of thehardware pipelines is used to design the man-machine interface of this module so that theusers can intuitively open or close the valves needed to be controlled.(2) The module of serial communication and testing. In order to obtain, deal with andanalyze the testing data of mass spectrometer, communication of the main controllingcomputer and mass spectrometer is needed to be built. The program of this moduleachieves many functions such as the main controlling computer receives real-time testingdata of the mass spectrometer through RS232serial ports, changes the testing data into atext format and preserve, etc.(3) The module of locating the laser heater. In order to make sure the laser heater canlocate to certain position and heat the specimen, the position of the laser heater is needed tobe controlled. The program of this module achieves this function by calling the driver ofthe laser heater. Additionally, the physical simulation diagram of the heated holes is alsoused to design the man-machine interface, so that the users can conveniently click on thecurrent sample in a certain hole and finish the process of positioning heating. By integrating the hardware and software of the system, this paper implemented theexperimental analysis for the stability and the accuracy of the mass spectrometermeasurement and control system. The results show that the system achieved the design goal.Additionally, the quadrupole mass spectrometer measurement and control system has goodautomation, friendly interface, easy maintainability, and has broad application prospects.