PSPL Lab

Library for lab work in the Princeton Space Physics Laboratory: MATLAB tools for setting up the ion beamline and processing beam-monitor data.

Getting started

1. Clone or download this repo.

2. In MATLAB (R2019a or newer), run pspl_setup.m once per session. It puts every tool folder on the MATLAB path, so the functions work from any folder:

   run('path/to/PSPL_Lab/pspl_setup.m')

   To keep the folders on the path for future sessions, run savepath afterwards or add that line to your startup.m.

3. Open the tool you need. Scripts are set up by editing the variables near the top (data paths, dates, physical parameters) before running.

What's here

Folder	What it's for	Files
beamline/wien_filter/	Ion source Wien filter: plate voltage that passes each ion species, and plots of a plate-potential scan against voltage and mass	Ion_source_Wien.m
beamline/deflection/	Gyroradius and sideways deflection of the beam in the beamline's magnetic fields	gyroradiusCalculator.m, derivation note (PDF) and slides
beam_monitor/abm/	C-foil absolute beam monitor (ABM): count rates, absolute detection efficiency and absolute beam flux	ABM_process.m (batch script), import_ABM_file.m, determine_avg_ABM_rate.m

Each folder's README covers inputs, outputs and data formats.

Adding a tool

• Put it under the area it belongs to (beamline/, beam_monitor/) in its own folder. Start a new top-level folder for a new kind of equipment or analysis.
• Keep data out of the repo: read it from OneDrive and set the path near the top of the script.
• Start each function with a help block (what it does, inputs, outputs, units) so help <name> works.
• Keep derivation notes and slides next to the code they explain.
• Add a row to the table above and a short README in the tool's folder.