SpectraFox

scanning probe spectroscopy analysis

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Welcome to SpectraFox.

SpectraFox is a free open-source software solution for managing, processing, and evaluating scientific scanning probe microscopy (SPM) data files, i.e. as recorded using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) + scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), as well as recorded using atomic force microscopy (AFM).

SpectraFox provides an easy way of browsing and displaying data, and of applying mathematical functions and more specialized data treatment procedures to your data. The best about it, all actions can not only be applied to a single file but also to many files simultaneously. Results can then be easily exported to other file formats, such as simple CSV files, Origin-compatible files, or Mathematica notebooks. To protect you against data loss the original data is always untouched.

Spectroscopy Files
  • easy data preview and visualization
  • batch data treatment
  • handles file formats of a variety of measurement systems
  • released under an open-source license
Scan Images
  • visualization of topography maps
  • location tracking of point spectra
  • handles file formats of a variety of measurement systems
  • released under an open-source license

Features

add or multiply scalar values or reference data sets

scalar values or reference data can be added or multiplied to the measured signal to account for deviations in the measurement (e.g. by voltage dividers)

data normalization

set certain regions of you data to one, to compare spectra recorded under different conditions

single / multiple non-linear fitting

fit your data to single or multiple fit-functions simultaneously (e.g. Gaussian, Lorentian, Fano, or exponential functions), that can even be coupled together

visualization of scan-images and spectral intensity maps

recorded images, such as topography maps, are visualized in a quick preview, and the intensity of spectra can be plotted as a color-plot on top.

AFM/STM force/current deconvolution

in frequency modulated AFM: deconvolute the signals of frequency shift and average current into signals of the force and instantaneous current

smoothing

smooth noisy data using different smoothing models, such as simple adjacent average smoothing, or the more information conserving Savitzky-Golay

averaging within the same file, or between several files

average a bunch of spectra to improve data quality

data re-gauging

re-gauge spectroscopy data, which has been recorded using a lock-in amplifier to the correct physical dimensions (e.g. for dI/dV data recorded as a voltage, it gets converted back to a conductivity)

visualization of line-scans

data recorded along a line can be visualized by a color-plot to narrow the occurence of certain spectroscopic features

rich export / conversion functionality

all spectroscopy files can be exported/converted to commonly used formats, ranging from csv or Origin compatible files to Mathematica notebooks, where you can continue your data evaluation

Supported file formats
SPECS Nanonis

.dat

.sxm

bias-spectroscopy, z-spectroscopy

scan images
Createc STMAFM

.VERT

.DAT

spectroscopy

scan images
Omicron Matrix

.*_mtrx

bias-spectroscopy, z-spectroscopy

scan images
Nanotec Electronica WSxM

.stp

.top, .ch1, ...

.cur

spectroscopy

scan images
Bruker AFM

.FLT

.dat

scan images

spectroscopy

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System requirement: Windows Vista or higher (32 or 64 bit) + .NET Framework 4.8

The setup wizard will automatically install .NET Framework 4.5, if necessary. SpectraFox will check periodically for updates. You can switch off this functionality any time. It is your decision which type of updates you will receive (only stable or also beta updates).

stable release

Requires administrator privileges on your computer. Is getting installed to your central "Program Files" folder.

low-privilege setup

Does not require administrator privileges on your computer. Is getting installed to your personal "Program Files" folder.

License

This open source software is free of charge. If it contributes to your scientific work, please cite:

“SpectraFox: A free open-source data management and analysis tool
for scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy."
Michael Ruby, SoftwareX 5, 31 (2016), doi:10.1016/j.softx.2016.04.001

The contributing authors (Michael Ruby) grant hereby the permission to use, distribute, and modify SpectraFox according to the GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE V3 .

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

Thanks to all contributors of these third-party libraries used by SpectraFox:

Thanks to all contributors of these third-party libraries used on this website:

Privacy Policy

The protection of your privacy and your personal data is one of our highest priorities.

Responsible contact for any questions regarding the privacy policy:
Michael Ruby, Liebensteinstr. 6, 14195 Berlin, GERMANY

Collection of general information

When you access this website through your web browser or when SpectraFox performs an automatic check for software updates, the data of your specific request is submitted to our systems. It contains the requested web page, the type of your web browser or application, your computer's operating system, the hostname of your internet service provider, and your current internet protocol address (IP address). The data itself does not allow a direct reconstruction of who you are. However, collecting the data is technically required to deliver the content of the web page which you requested. This is how the internet works.

Since data protection is among our highest priorities, no data is stored in a permanent way on our systems. All your data is deleted after delivering the requested content to you. Since the data is not stored on a hard disk, and just kept in our system's memory for the short duration of your request, it becomes highly unlikely that your data may be compromised in the event of a cyber attack to our systems.

Transport encryption

All the data exchanged between your system and our server is protected by modern encryption technologies, such as transport layer security (TLS).

When is your data deleted?

We collect data that is required to process your request and deliver the content to your system. Any data is immediately deleted after the connection between your system and our server is closed.

Your rights of information

You have the rights to be informed about all any data that is stored on our systems. Furthermore, you have the rights that we change or delete your data upon your request.

Changes to our privacy policy

This privacy policy may be changed in the future to always fulfill the laws. In any case, for each request of our website the current privacy policy may be found here.