I have looked over the laser calibration attenuator setting files and
I have a few questions about them (don't I always?).
Basically, most of the attenuator settings start at some low number and
then march on to a higher number by about 40 clicks a step. What I don't
understand is why sometimes the steps change to 20 or to 60 and then back to
40. Did we really determine each attenuator setting on an individual basis?
Or are the erratic steps an historical artifact? The different initial
settings, of course, seem fairly obviously determined by the laser output and
the attenuator and splitter box performance.
Additionally, the SM 5 settings have about a half-dozen steps of 100
clicks each added to the end (I say "added" because they are out of alignment
with the rest of the steps). Does anyone know why these are here?
The guiding light here is that we have finished the laser hardware
upgrade and I would like to standardize the software a little bit as well. In
principal, it looks like we can reduce all the laser attenuator setting files
to a simple start and stop value, but I want to understand what the motivations
for the different steps are first.
- Nat