Meerstetter Temperature Controller

Refer to the official documentation of the Meerstetter for an in-depth guide to setting up and operating the system. The manual is very rigorous and covers everything required. This article just covers the main relevant points.

Official Website - Further information

Datasheet - Concise data

Manual - In depth guides

Setup guide - Quick guide for the first setup

Overview

Basic Concept

The Meerstetter temperature controller is used to stabilize objects to a given temperature. It measures the temperature of the object using a thermal resistor and adjusts the object temperature accordingly by driving a heating/cooling element connected to the object.

Functionality

Temperature stabilisation to sub mK range

Exact control through software environment

Easy configuration using autotuning funtion

Custom programmable temperature ramps

Temperature monitoring and data logging

Programmable multi purpose pins for different applications

Hardware

X1: General connections

power supply

multi purpose pins

serial connection

X2: Connections for temperature measurement and control

peltier element/heating foil etc.

temperature measurement

X3: USB for connection to PC

Software

Meerstetter provides a software for their temperature controller. This software is used to set up and monitor the temperature controller. It also provides a option for data logging. The newest version can be downloaded in the software section of the Official Website.

Basic Setup

If you are setting up a Meerstetter temperature controller for the first time, refer to the official setup guide. It takes you through all main steps and introduces you to the service software. The Manual also covers this topic extensively. Refer to chapter 2.

Power supply

The Meerstetter can operate in a voltage range of 5-24V DC at a maximum current of 4A. Connect the pins VIN and GND on X1 to a suitable lab power supply to power the meerstetter. The current setup for the 1560 nm rio laser diode runs at 18V.

Peltier Element/Heating Foil

The Meerstetter can run with a peltier element as well as a resistive heating element like a heating foil. The peltier element/resistive heater is connected to the pins OUT+ and OUT-. To use it correctly, you must configure the meerstetter accordingly using the service software.

Temperature Sensor

See page 4 of the Datasheet.

Object Temperature

The Meerstetter can do two-wire as well as four-wire measurement. For this the pins OBJ T° IA, OBJ T° IB, OBJ T° UA and OBJ T° UB on X2 are used. UA and UB for two wire, all four for four wire. Compatible temperature sensors are NTC, PT100 and PT1000.

Sink Temperature

The Meerstetter can also monitor the temperature of itself. This is optional. The temperature sensor is connected to SINK T° A and SINK T° B on X2. For this an NTC is used.

Software

The newest version can be downloaded in the software section of the Official Website. Refer to the documentation given there to get started. If you want to look something up, refer to the Manual

Further Options

Status LEDs

To add a status LED to the Meerstetter, you can follow this step-by-step guide:

connect its anode to any of the pins labelled “RES” using a resistor

connect its cathode to GND

connect the Meerstetter to your PC via a mini-USB B cable

connect a power supply

<fc #ff0000>ensure the Meerstetter is connected to a load, otherwise it might be damaged“”“”“”“”“”“”“”“”!</fc> Information on what these options exactly mean can be found on pages 47 and 48 of the manual

write the settings to the Meerstetter using the button in the bottom right corner

Output Filter

As discussed as in this Email from Klaus Zipfel to the Meerstetter engineering department, the output of the Meerstetter is not perfectly smooth. To stabilise the output current, this filter was designed.

The capacitors used were the big red foil capacitors by Wima with a capacitance of ca. 10µF. The choke is a common mode choke with multiple tens of mH.

Data Logging