Andor SDK3

Summary:	Interfaces with Andor sCMOS cameras (Use Andor DeviceAdapter instead for other Andor CCD and EMCCD cameras)
Authors	David Gault (Andor)
Maintainers	Matt Milford (Andor) Norman Glasgow (Andor) David Gault (Andor - retired)
Documentation:	Orla Hanrahan (Andor) Pariksheet Nanda (Andor)
License:	BSD
Platforms:	Windows, Linux, (No Mac driver available)
Devices:	Neo, Zyla

Installation

Andor Driver

Support Advisory

Linux 32-bit users should install Andor SDK 3.4.30007.0 until Bitflow fixes a 32-bit issue

Install the Andor Driver Pack and restart the computer. This is publicly available on MyAndor website under Drivers and 3rd Party > Andor Driver Pack (sCMOS). Yes, you have to register and login to download the file.

From the driver pack directory:

   C:\Program Files\Andor Driver Pack 3\

Copy these 3 files to the Micro-Manager root directory:

   atcore.dll
   atdevregcam.dll
   atcl_bitflow.dll

Without these 3 files, "AndorSDK3" will not show up in Available Devices in the Hardware Configuration Wizards > Step 2

Disable computer power savings

Disable C-states power saving in the BIOS. Commercial computers like Dell, HP, etc shipped in the US and Europe are legally required by environmental regulations to ship with all power savings turned on.

Additionally for Windows 7, turn off PCI power management settings

Configuration

Increase ImageJ memory buffer size

It is possible to achieve full frame rate with enough RAM. Again using a 64-bit OS, on the ImageJ toolbar, set the maximum memory available to e.g. 10 GB:

     Edit > Options > Memory & Threads ... > Maximum Memory

Restart uManager for this change to take effect.

Usage notes

Trigger mode is dynamically set by µManager when using Multi-Dimensional > Time points.
- "exposure" < "interval" ignores the "interval" time and instead uses "frame rate" property from the "Device/Property Browser"
- "exposure" > "interval" sets Software Triggers acquisition.

Save data to a large storage drive such as 1 TB, 950 MB/sec PCI-e SSD (OCZ-Z drive R2 P-88) or 4x Kingston 256GB SSD (RAID 0) on LSI MegaRAID setup

Troubleshooting

Zyla support in Micro-Manager

Please read the section on High Speed Acquisition in Micro-Manager. The minimum version of Micro-Manager required is 1.4.11 (Nov 8th, 2012), but 1.4.15 or later is strongly recommended. Consider trying the latest nightly build from here.

DeviceCreate function failed

This error appears in the hardware wizard if the Andor camera SDK has been installed, but the computer has not been restarted.

Error: Circular buffer overflowed.

If one encounters this error, increase sequence buffer size. In the µManager toolbar one can set the Sequence buffer size in the main menu:

     Tools > Options... > Sequence buffer size [MB]

Reason: Due to the rate that the camera acquires data it's not uncommon for µManager to run out of "Circular Buffer" memory during sequence acquisitions (50+ images). The circular buffer is where images wait when they've been taken off the camera but have not yet been processed by µManager. The error message is:

     Micro-Manager Error:
     Error: Circular buffer overflowed.