Zurick lockin amplifier(HF2Server)#

A TCP-based gateway for Zurich Instruments HF2 series lock-in amplifiers. This server allows remote clients to control hardware nodes and acquire averaged data via a simple Tab-Separated Protocol.

📡 Network Protocol#

The server uses a Tab-Separated Protocol over TCP.

Request Format: command + \t + arg1 + \t + arg2 … + \n

Response Format:

1\t[Data]\n : Success.
0\t[Error Message]\n : Failure.

HF2Server Reference#

A TCP-based gateway for Zurich Instruments HF2 series lock-in amplifiers. This server allows remote clients to control hardware nodes and acquire averaged data via a simple Tab-Separated Protocol.

📡 Network Protocol#

Request Format: command + \t + arg1 + \t + arg2 … + \n Response Format: 1\t[Data]\n (Success) or 0\t[Error Message]\n (Failure)

📖 Complete Command Reference#

Command	Arguments	Description
Data Acquisition
`get_data`	`duration` (float)	Returns: `x, y, theta, scope_mean, r`
`setup_scope`	`freq`, `len`, `ch`	Configures Scope for single shot (Time, Length, Input Select).
Oscillator & Output
`set_ref_freq`	`val` (float)	Sets Lockin reference Frequency (Hz).
`set_ref_v`	`val` (float)	Sets reference voltage Amplitude (Vpk).
`set_ref_voff`	`val` (float)	Sets Signal voltage Offset (V).
`set_ref_out`	`state` (0/1)	Enables (1) or Disables (0) Signal Output 0.
Demodulator Settings
`set_tc`	`val` (float)	Sets Lockin (low pass) Time Constant (s).
`set_datarate`	`val` (float)	Sets Demodulator 0 Sample Rate (Hz).
`set_ref_harm`	`val` (int)	Sets Demodulator Harmonic.
Input & Autorange
`set_curr_range`	`val` (float)	Sets Current Input Range (Powers of 10).
`auto_curr_range`	None	Triggers Autorange for Current Input 0.
`auto_volt_range`	None	Triggers Autorange for Signal Input 0.
System
`ping`	None	Returns `1\t` if server is alive.
`connect_hardware`	None	Re-establishes connection to ZI Data Server.
`disconnect_hardware`	None	Safely disconnects from hardware.
`shutdown`	None	Stops the server and disconnects hardware.

💻 Example Usage#

1. Start the Server#

from sm_bluesky.common.servers import HF2Server

server = HF2Server(
    host="0.0.0.0", port=7891, device_id="dev4206", hf2_ip="172.23.110.84"
)
server.start()

2. Client#

import socket


def query_hf2(command):
    with socket.create_connection(("localhost", 7891)) as sock:
        sock.sendall(f"{command}\n".encode())
        return sock.recv(1024).decode()


# Example: Get 0.5s of averaged data
print(query_hf2("get_data\t0.5"))