A Multichannel Data Acquisition and Processing System for Laser Spectroscopic Experiments

Abstract

A microcomputer-controlled data acquisition and processing system, developed to carry out a variety of pulsed-laser spectroscopic experiments, is described. The hardware consists of largely off-the-shelf spectroscopic instrumentation in conjunction with an IBM personal computer. Versatile software with interactive graphics has been written with the use of Turbo BASIC. The software and hardware components are discussed in detail. As an example of the system performance, the LIF spectrum of S 2 O has been acquired with the use of an Nd:YAG pumped dye laser as the excitation source. Examples of interactive screen displays and a publication-quality spectrum are presented.