Controlling Scientific Instruments Using JAVA on LINUX

Motivated by the increased use of the Linux operating system at LLE, a program has been built in that environment to control the operation of CCD cameras. CCD cameras are used in several diagnostics, including UV spectrometers and streak cameras, that analyze the 60 of the OMEGA laser. This program, written in Java, allows users with little or no knowledge of the intricacies of CCD camera command logic to set up the camera and acquire data in the form of an image. Among the issues examined during programming lay the optimization of reading the image, leading to faster acquisition of the image, and the synchronization of threads in a multi-threaded program, which ensures that the camera control program will adequately respond to the user. The program was created using special care to facilitate easy reuse of the code for similar applications without requiring considerable modification.