SLAC, Menlo Park, California, USA
The hard x-ray split and delay (HXRSnD) system at the Linear Coherent Light Source (LCLS) was designed to allow for experiments requiring two-pulse based x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy. The system consists of eight silicon crystals split between two optical branches, with over 30 degrees of freedom. To maintain system stability and safety while easing system operation, we expand the LCLS Skywalker software suite to provide a python-based automation scheme that handles alignment, operations and engineer notification. Core safety systems such as collision avoidance are processed at the controller and Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) layer. Higher level functionality is implemented using a stack of open-source python packages (ophyd, bluesky, transitions) which provide a comprehensive and robust operational environment consisting of virtual motors, plans and finite state machines (FSM).
