Data Collection Wizard

34 min

Requires AMICS 5.2.0 or newer.

The Data Collection Wizard provides a unified interface for setting up all aspects of a measurement. Instead of configuring image, x-ray, segmentation, and classification settings through separate dialogs, the wizard combines everything into a single tabbed view.

{{FIG: Data Collection Wizard showing the main window with tab strip, navigation buttons, and image preview area | IDD_WIZARD_MAIN}}

Accessing the Wizard

Open the Data Collection Wizard from the Investigator ribbon:

Select a specimen in the Investigator tree

Click Add Measurement or double-click an existing measurement to edit its settings

The wizard opens with all tabs available

Wizard Layout

The wizard has three areas:

Top bar — Navigation controls: Experiment / Hole / Object radio buttons, Automation Mode dropdown, Select Parent dropdown, and New button

Center — Measurement list (left) and image preview (right)

Bottom — Six configuration tabs

Image Tab

Configure BSE image acquisition settings.

{{FIG: Data Collection Wizard Image tab showing Image Control, Measure Sequence, Stop, and Background Filter groups | Wizard Image tab}}

Image Control

Setting	Description
Keep Primary Image	Retain the BSE image in the measurement file
2nd Channel Image	Also collect a second detector channel (SE, CL, etc.)
Monitor Image Stability	Check BSE stability at a configurable time interval
Reduce Noise	Apply noise reduction to collected images
Finish the Line	Complete the current scan line before stopping

Image Properties

Button	Description
Quality	Set the scan speed / dwell time (Low, Medium Low, Medium, Medium High, High)
Resolution	Set the image resolution in pixels
Size	Set the field of view size
Overlap	Slider to set the field overlap percentage (0–50%)

Particle Size

Setting	Description
Minimum Particle Size (um)	Minimum particle size to detect
Maximum Particle Size (um)	Maximum particle size to detect

Measurement Coverage

Option	Description
Entire Area	Measure the full defined area
Inside Fields	Only measure within defined field boundaries

Measure Sequence

Controls the order in which fields are scanned:

Option	Description
From Center	Start scanning from the center of the measurement area (default)
Top → Down	Scan from top to bottom, left to right
Bottom → Up	Scan from bottom to top
Random	Scan fields in random order

Stop Conditions

Define when the measurement should end. Enable multiple conditions and combine them with Or or And logic:

Condition	Description
Cover Whole Area	Stop when all fields in the measurement area have been scanned
Frames	Stop after a specified number of fields
Time	Stop after a specified number of minutes
Particles	Stop after a specified number of particles are identified

See [Custom Termination Conditions] for details on combining conditions.

Background Filter Parameters

Setting	Description
Upper	Upper grey level threshold for background detection
Lower	Lower grey level threshold for background detection
Extract Background	Yes/No — whether to extract and classify background pixels

X-Ray Tab

Configure EDS x-ray acquisition and segmentation settings.

{{FIG: Data Collection Wizard X-Ray tab showing Excitation, Segmentation Mode, and segmentation image preview | Wizard X-Ray tab}}

Excitation

Setting	Description
Voltage (kV)	Accelerating voltage for x-ray excitation
Current (CPS)	Detector count rate
Dwell Time	Acquire x-rays for a fixed time (milliseconds)
Counts	Acquire until a target count is reached
Enter Current	Manually enter probe current (nA)
Record Current / Set Current	Record or set current using a reference standard
Source	X-ray source selection

Segmentation Mode

Select the measurement mode:

Mode	Description
Segmentation	Standard segmentation — BSE image is segmented, x-rays collected per segment
Matrix	Matrix mapping — x-rays collected on a regular grid
Search and Segment	Rare phase search — scan for bright phases, then segment and collect x-rays
Hypermap	Full hyperspectral mapping — x-ray spectrum at every pixel
Hybrid (triggers)	Triggered collection — x-rays collected only when trigger conditions are met
Search + Hypermap	Combine rare phase search with hypermap collection

Grid Mapping Modes

For Matrix and grid-based modes:

Setting	Description
Line Mode	Collect x-rays along lines rather than a grid
X Spacing (um)	Horizontal spacing between x-ray points
Y Spacing (um)	Vertical spacing (line mode only)

Segmentation Preview

The right side of the tab shows a live segmentation preview of the current BSE image with the active segmentation parameters applied:

Control	Description
Grey Level Factor	Slider controlling BSE grey level sensitivity for segment boundaries
Area Factor	Slider controlling minimum segment area
Minimum Size (um)	Minimum segment size
Segments as Outlines	Show segment boundaries as outlines on the preview image

X-Ray Collection

Setting	Description
Plot X-Ray	Display x-ray points on the image during collection

Search Tab

Configure scan filter settings for rare phase search and hardware-adjusted collection modes.

{{FIG: Data Collection Wizard Search tab showing scan filter options and hardware settings | Wizard Search tab}}

Scan Filter Selection

Option	Description
No Scan Filter	No pre-filtering — collect on all segments
Image Scan Filter	Pre-scan with different image settings before detailed collection
Elemental Scan Filter	Pre-scan with x-ray analysis to select regions of interest

Image Scan Filter

When Image Scan Filter is selected:

Setting	Description
Quality	Scan speed for the pre-scan
Resolution	Enable resolution override
Scan Speed	Specific scan speed setting
Image Width	Image width for the pre-scan

Elemental Scan Filter

Setting	Description
Xray Time	Collection time for the pre-scan x-ray analysis

Scan by Different Hardware Settings

For drive-back and AOI (Area of Interest) modes:

Setting	Description
AOI Buffer (um)	Buffer zone around areas of interest
Max AOI/Field	Maximum number of AOIs per field
Max Total AOI	Maximum total AOIs across the measurement
Scan Field Width (um)	Field width for the drive-back scan
Working Distance	Working distance for drive-back
Stage Height	Stage height for drive-back
Focus / Magnification	Optical parameters for drive-back
Adjust Stage Height	Automatically adjust stage height for drive-back
Read / Set	Read current hardware values or set them

Drive-back Tab

Configure drive-back collection for targeted analysis of specific particles or regions.

{{FIG: Data Collection Wizard Drive-back tab showing target type, spectra display, and collection options | Wizard Drive-back tab}}

Targets

Setting	Description
Centroid Point	Drive back to the centroid of each target particle
Multi-collect	Collect multiple x-ray points per target
Hypermap	Collect a full hypermap for each target
Filter	Apply a filter to select which particles to target
Edit	Edit the filter parameters
From Experiment	Use targets from an existing experiment
Collect Image	Capture an image at each drive-back location
Max #	Maximum number of targets to visit

Collection Options

Setting	Description
Collect X-Ray	Collect x-ray spectra at each target
Quantification	Perform quantification at each target
Quantification method	Select the quantification method to apply

The center area displays a spectrum preview and elemental data for the selected target.

Triggers Tab

Configure segment triggers for hybrid measurement modes.

{{FIG: Data Collection Wizard Triggers tab showing embedded trigger configuration dialog | Wizard Triggers tab}}

The Triggers tab embeds the full segment trigger configuration interface. See [Segmentation Triggers] for detailed documentation of trigger types and parameters.

Properties Tab

Set measurement naming, classification workflow, and template settings.

{{FIG: Data Collection Wizard Properties tab showing Name, Classification Workflow, and Template sections | Wizard Properties tab}}

Name

Setting	Description
Experiment	Name for the experiment
Specimen	Name for the specimen

Classification Workflow Upon Completion

Option	Description
Do Not Classify	Do not run classification after measurement
Classify During Experiment	Run classification in real-time as data is collected
Classify After Completion	Run classification after the measurement finishes
Add to Project	Select which project to add the measurement to
Classification Workflow	Select which workflow to apply

Template Measurement

Setting	Description
Measurement List	Select a saved measurement to use as a template
Apply	Apply the selected template's settings to the current measurement

Tip: Use templates to quickly configure multiple measurements with the same settings. Select a previous measurement and click Apply to copy all its image, x-ray, and segmentation settings.

Additional Options

Setting	Description
Stitch Image Mosaic	Automatically stitch fields into a mosaic after measurement

The right side shows a properties panel with additional measurement metadata.

Workflow

A typical workflow using the Data Collection Wizard:

Select or create a specimen in the Investigator tree

Open the wizard

Image tab — Set image quality, resolution, overlap, and stop conditions

X-Ray tab — Choose segmentation mode, set excitation parameters and segmentation thresholds

Search tab — (Optional) Configure scan filters if using rare phase search or hybrid modes

Drive-back tab — (Optional) Set up targeted analysis for specific particles

Triggers tab — (Optional) Define triggers for hybrid measurement modes

Properties tab — Name the experiment, select classification workflow, and optionally apply a template

Start the measurement