Import USAXS/SAXS/WAXS data in Igor Pro

The import tool uses the USAXS naming system for USAXS data and the QRS naming system for SAXS and WAXS data. When using Irena to analyze, plot, or export data, select the appropriate USAXS or QRS option at the top of each panel.

Collected data arrangement

When you collect data on the 12IDC USAXS/SAXS/WAXS instrument, data are saved in a folder named MM_DD_userName. The folder name is formed by prepending the month and day (MM_DD_) to the name selected by staff, typically based on the PI username. This user folder contains subfolders for each sample, named at the SampleName level. Sample folders can be created with the command RE(newSample("sampleName")). The default sample name is "data", used when newUser is run.

Within each sample folder:

  • USAXS data are stored in a subfolder with the suffix _usaxs

  • SAXS data are stored in a subfolder with the suffix _saxs

  • WAXS data are stored in a subfolder with the suffix _waxs

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After completing your experiment, the MM_DD_userName folder is typically available via USB drive or Box.com (ANL cloud storage). A typical USAXS/SAXS/WAXS dataset per sample is less than 4 MB. Small JPEG witness images (~100 KB each) are also collected before each measurement run. The instrument performs automatic data reduction on each dataset — see Matilda automatic data reduction for details.

Indra release 2.05 introduces a new import tool that can quickly import all data from NXcanSAS (NeXus) data files. The tool is suitable for general use and also supports basic re-reduction of data with default parameters.

To open the new import panel, select “USAXS-SAXS-WAXS data reduction (new)” from the USAXS menu:

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Two main import methods are available.

Import Whole Sample

This method imports all USAXS, SAXS, and WAXS data found within a sample folder’s subfolders in a single step. Select the sample-level folder (e.g., BelowEdge), and the code imports data from BelowEdge_usaxs, BelowEdge_saxs, and BelowEdge_waxs automatically. Witness images are not imported. This is the fastest method for getting data into Igor Pro.

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Import Selected Data

Use this method when you need to import only a subset of data, for example during an ongoing experiment or when a sample folder contains a very large number of scans that you want to import selectively.

  1. Click “Select data path” and navigate to any one of the three subfolders (_usaxs, _saxs, or _waxs). Choose the subfolder that contains the most datasets for best matching.

  2. Select the checkboxes for the data types to import: “USAXS?”, “SAXS?”, “WAXS?”, “Image?”.

  3. Click “Import Selected data to Igor”. If any selected data type does not exist for a given scan, it is silently skipped without error.

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Note

The “Re-reduce data” option is a work in progress and may not function as expected. Limit use of this panel to the import functions described above.