Software: DataPlot

DataPlot is an image analysis program which offers features not commonly found in off-the-shelf image analysis programs. Many of these features are adapted to the needs of the x-ray and neutron scattering community.

DataPlot was programmed in Microsoft Visual Basic and therefore it can be easily modified to incorporate new features.

DataPlot can work with image arrays exceeding 1000x1000 elements, each element of which is a double-precision number up to magnitude 10³¹⁸. RGB color images are not supported, although the images can be displayed in pseudo-color.

Download (2,4 MB)

Here is a brief overview of features to date:

File Reading/Writing

• Read and write ASCII data files in a variety of formats, including arrays from position sensitive x-ray detectors.
• Read/write Omicron STM/AFM data files. (Writing Omicron data files is particularly useful, insofar as it permits the powerful Omicron software to be used for analysis of non-SPM data).

Digitization

• Location of peaks and other features (mouse selectable) can be determined, and a collection of coordinates of such features can be extracted into a plot window or ASCII file for subsequent analysis. This has proved invaluable for real-time analysis of two-dimensional x-ray diffraction data.
• Scientific plots can be scanned from journals, and the data points can be extracted into a plot window or ASCII file for subsequent use.

Basic Image Manipulation

• Basic manipulation, such as log/linear scaling, contrast adjustment, threshholding.
• Image zoom, image expansion and contraction via Lagrange interpolating polynomials.

Scanning Probe Microscopy

• Subtract planar background (levelling)
• Calculation of local slope histograms
• Light shading

Linescan

• Standard linescan options found in most image analysis programs.
• Line scans involving two-dimensional integration of image intensity. This is essential for analysis of diffuse scattering intensity in many x-ray and neutron scattering experiments.
• Sector scans, in which multiple line scans are performed starting from a common vertex. This has been used for the analysis of spherically-symmetric TEM images.

Correlation Analysis

• Height-height and height-difference correlation functions, calculated with two independent algorithms.

Region of Interest

• Integrate the image within specified regions of interest (ROI). This has been used for real-time analysis of diffuse scattering intensity acquired during x-ray diffraction experiments.

The DataPlot program is available for free downloading from the research group of Prof. Dosch.