3.3.2.3. NXcanSAS¶

Status:

application definition, extends NXobject

Description:

Implementation of the canSAS standard to store reduced small-angle scattering data of any dimension.

For more details, see:

The minimum requirements for reduced small-angle scattering data as described by canSAS are summarized in the following figure:

Implementation of canSAS standard in NeXus

This application definition is an implementation of the canSAS standard for storing both one-dimensional and multi-dimensional reduced small-angle scattering data.

• NXcanSAS is for reduced SAS data and metadata to be stored together in one file.

• Reduced SAS data consists of $$I(\vec{Q})$$ or $$I(|\vec{Q}|)$$

• External file links are not to be used for the reduced data.

• A good practice/practise is, at least, to include a reference to how the data was acquired and processed. Yet this is not a requirement.

• There is no need for NXcanSAS to refer to any raw data.

The canSAS data format has a structure similar to NeXus, not identical. To allow canSAS data to be expressed in NeXus, yet identifiable by the canSAS standard, an additional group attribute canSAS_class was introduced. Here is the mapping of some common groups.

group (*)

NX_class

canSAS_class

sasentry

NXentry

SASentry

sasdata

NXdata

SASdata

sasdetector

NXdetector

SASdetector

sasinstrument

NXinstrument

SASinstrument

sasnote

NXnote

SASnote

sasprocess

NXprocess

SASprocess

sasprocessnote

NXcollection

SASprocessnote

sastransmission

NXdata

SAStransmission_spectrum

sassample

NXsample

SASsample

sassource

NXsource

SASsource

(*) The name of each group is a suggestion, not a fixed requirement and is chosen as fits each data file. See the section on defining NXDL group and field names.

Refer to the NeXus Coordinate System drawing (The NeXus Coordinate System) for choice and direction of $$x$$, $$y$$, and $$z$$ axes.

The minimum required information for a NeXus data file written to the NXcanSAS specification.

 1NXcanSAS HDF5 data file
2  entry : NXentry
3    @NX_class = "NXentry"
4    @canSAS_class = "SASentry"
5    @version  = "1.0"
6    definition = "NXcanSAS"
7    run = "<see the documentation>"
8    title = "something descriptive yet short"
9    data : NXdata
10      @NX_class = "NXdata"
11      @canSAS_class = "SASdata"
12      @signal = "I"
13      @I_axes = "<see the documentation>"
14      @Q_indices : NX_INT = <see the documentation>
15      I : NX_NUMBER
16        @units = <see the documentation>
17      Q : NX_NUMBER
18        @units = NX_PER_LENGTH


Symbols:

No symbol table

Groups cited:

Structure:

ENTRY: (required) NXentry

Place the canSAS SASentry group as a child of a NeXus NXentry group (when data from multiple techniques are being stored) or as a replacement for the NXentry group.

Note: It is required for all numerical objects to provide a units attribute that describes the engineering units. Use the Unidata UDunits 1 specification as this is compatible with various community standards.

1

The UDunits specification also includes instructions for derived units.

@default: (optional) NX_CHAR

Declares which NXdata group contains the data to be shown by default. It is needed to resolve ambiguity when more than one NXdata group exists. The value is the name of the default NXdata group. Usually, this will be the name of the first SASdata group.

@canSAS_class: (required) NX_CHAR

Official canSAS group: SASentry

Obligatory value: SASentry

@version: (required) NX_CHAR

Describes the version of the canSAS standard used to write this data. This must be a text (not numerical) representation. Such as:

@version="1.1"


Obligatory value: 1.1

definition: (required) NX_CHAR

Official NeXus NXDL schema to which this subentry conforms.

Obligatory value: NXcanSAS

title: (required) NX_CHAR

Title of this SASentry. Make it so that you can recognize the data by its title. Could be the name of the sample, the name for the measured data, or something else representative.

run: (required) NX_CHAR

Run identification for this SASentry. For many facilities, this is an integer, such as en experiment number. Use multiple instances of run as needed, keeping in mind that HDF5 requires unique names for all entities in a group.

@name: (optional) NX_CHAR

Optional string attribute to identify this particular run. Could use this to associate (correlate) multiple SASdata elements with run elements.

DATA: (required) NXdata

A SASData group contains a single reduced small-angle scattering data set that can be represented as $$I(\vec{Q})$$ or $$I(|\vec{Q}|)$$.

Q can be either a vector ($$\vec{Q}$$) or a vector magnitude ($$|\vec{Q}|$$)

The name of each SASdata group must be unique within a SASentry group. Suggest using names such as sasdata01.

NOTE: For the first SASdata group, be sure to write the chosen name into the SASentry/@default attribute, as in:

SASentry/@default="sasdata01"


A SASdata group has several attributes:

• I_axes

• Q_indices

To indicate the dependency relationships of other varied parameters, use attributes similar to @Mask_indices (such as @Temperature_indices or @Pressure_indices).

@canSAS_class: (required) NX_CHAR

Official canSAS group: NXcanSAS (applications); SASdata

Obligatory value: SASdata

@signal: (required) NX_CHAR

Name of the default data field.

Obligatory value:

• I: For canSAS SASdata, this is always “I”.

@I_axes: (required) NX_CHAR

String array that defines the independent data fields used in the default plot for all of the dimensions of the signal field (the signal field is the field in this group that is named by the signal attribute of this group). One entry is provided for every dimension of the I data object. Such as:

@I_axes="Temperature", "Time", "Pressure", "Q", "Q"


Since there are five items in the list, the intensity field of this example I must be a five-dimensional array (rank=5).

@Q_indices: (required) NX_INT

Integer or integer array that describes which indices (of the $$I$$ data object) are used to reference the Q data object. The items in this array use zero-based indexing. Such as:

@Q_indices=1,3,4


which indicates that Q requires three indices from the $$I$$ data object: one for time and two for Q position. Thus, in this example, the Q data is time-dependent: $$\vec{Q}(t)$$.

Name of the data mask field.

The data mask must have the same shape as the data field. Positions in the mask correspond to positions in the data field. The value of the mask field may be either a boolean array where false means no mask and true means mask or a more descriptive array as as defined in NXdetector.

Integer or integer array that describes which indices (of the $$I$$ data object) are used to reference the Mask data object. The items in this array use zero-based indexing. Such as:

@Mask_indices=3,4


which indicates that Q requires two indices from the $$I$$ data object for Q position.

@timestamp: (optional) NX_DATE_TIME

ISO-8601 time 2

Q: (required) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_PER_LENGTH}

Array of $$Q$$ data to accompany $$I$$.

$$Q$$ may be represented as either the three-dimensional scattering vector $$\vec{Q}$$ or the magnitude of the scattering vector, $$|\vec{Q}|$$.

$|\vec{Q}| = (4\pi/\lambda) sin(\theta)$

When we write $$Q$$, we may refer to either or both of $$|\vec{Q}|$$ or $$\vec{Q}$$, depending on the context.

@units: (required) NX_CHAR

Engineering units to use when expressing $$Q$$ and related terms.

Data expressed in other units will generate a warning from validation software and may not be processed by some analysis software packages.

Any of these values:

• 1/m

• 1/nm: preferred

• 1/angstrom

@uncertainties: (optional) NX_CHAR

(optional: for numerical arrays)

Names the dataset (in this SASdata group) that provides the uncertainty to be used for data analysis. The name of the dataset containing the $$Q$$ uncertainty is flexible. The name must be unique in the SASdata group.

Such as:

@uncertainties="Q_uncertainties"


The uncertainties field will have the same shape (dimensions) as the Q field.

These values are the estimates of uncertainty of each Q. By default, this will be interpreted to be the estimated standard deviation. In special cases, when a standard deviation cannot possibly be used, its value can specify another measure of distribution width.

There may also be a subdirectory (optional) with constituent components.

Note

To report distribution in reported $$Q$$ values, use the @resolutions attribute. It is possible for both @resolutions and uncertainties to be reported.

@resolutions: (optional) NX_CHAR

(optional: for numerical arrays)

Names the dataset (in this SASdata group) containing the $$Q$$ resolution. The name of the dataset containing the $$Q$$ resolution is flexible. The name must be unique in the SASdata group.

The resolutions field will have the same shape (dimensions) as the Q field.

Generally, this is the principal resolution of each $$Q$$. Names the data object (in this SASdata group) that provides the $$Q$$ resolution to be used for data analysis. Such as:

@resolutions="Qdev"


To specify two-dimensional resolution for slit-smearing geometry, such as (dQw, dQl), use a string array, such as:

@resolutions="dQw", "dQl"


There may also be a subdirectory (optional) with constituent components.

This pattern will demonstrate how to introduce further as-yet unanticipated terms related to the data.

By default, the values of the resolutions data object are assumed to be one standard deviation of any function used to approximate the resolution function. This equates to the width of the gaussian distribution if a Gaussian is chosen. See the @resolutions_description attribute.

Note

To report uncertainty in reported $$Q$$ values, use the @uncertainties attribute. It is possible for both @resolutions and uncertainties to be reported.

@resolutions_description: (optional) NX_CHAR

(optional) Generally, this describes the $$Q$$ @resolutions data object. By default, the value is assumed to be “Gaussian”. These are suggestions:

• Gaussian

• Lorentzian

• Square : note that the full width of the square would be ~2.9 times the standard deviation specified in the vector

• Triangular

• Sawtooth-outward : vertical edge pointing to larger Q

• Sawtooth-inward vertical edge pointing to smaller Q

• Bin : range of values contributing (for example, when 2-D detector data have been reduced to a 1-D $$I(|Q|)$$ dataset)

For other meanings, it may be necessary to provide further details such as the function used to assess the resolution. In such cases, use additional datasets or a NXnote subgroup to include that detail.

I: (required) NX_NUMBER

Array of intensity ($$I$$) data.

The intensity may be represented in one of these forms:

absolute units: $$d\Sigma/d\Omega(Q)$$ differential cross-section per unit volume per unit solid angle (such as: 1/cm/sr or 1/m/sr)

absolute units: $$d\sigma/d\Omega(Q)$$ differential cross-section per unit atom per unit solid angle (such as: cm^2 or m^2)

arbitrary units: $$I(Q)$$ usually a ratio of two detectors but units are meaningless (such as: a.u. or counts)

This presents a few problems for analysis software to sort out when reading the data. Fortunately, it is possible to analyze the units to determine which type of intensity is being reported and make choices at the time the file is read. But this is an area for consideration and possible improvement.

One problem arises with software that automatically converts data into some canonical units used by that software. The software should not convert units between these different types of intensity indiscriminately.

A second problem is that when arbitrary units are used, then the set of possible analytical results is restricted. With such units, no meaningful volume fraction or number density can be determined directly from $$I(Q)$$.

In some cases, it is possible to apply a factor to convert the arbitrary units to an absolute scale. This should be considered as a possibility of the analysis process.

Where this documentation says typical units, it is possible that small-angle data may be presented in other units and still be consistent with NeXus. See the NeXus Data Units section.

@units: (required) NX_CHAR

Engineering units to use when expressing $$I$$ and intensity-related terms.

Data expressed in other units (or missing a @units attribute) will be treated as arbitrary by some software packages.

For software using the UDUNITS-2 library, arbitrary will be changed to unknown for handling with that library.

Any of these values:

• 1/m: includes m2/m3 and 1/m/sr

• 1/cm: includes cm2/cm3 and 1/cm/sr

• m2/g

• cm2/g

• arbitrary

@uncertainties: (optional) NX_CHAR

(optional: for numerical arrays)

Names the dataset (in this SASdata group) that provides the uncertainty of $$I$$ to be used for data analysis. The name of the dataset containing the $$I$$ uncertainty is flexible. The name must be unique in the SASdata group.

Generally, this is the estimate of the uncertainty of each $$I$$. Typically the estimated standard deviation.

Idev is the canonical name from the 1D standard. The NXcanSAS standard allows for the name to be described using this attribute. Such as:

@uncertainties="Idev"


@scaling_factor: (optional) NX_CHAR

(optional) Names the field (a.k.a. dataset) that contains a factor to multiply I. By default, this value is unity. Should an uncertainty be associated with the scaling factor field, the field containing that uncertainty would be designated via the uncertainties attribute. Such as:

I : NX_NUMBER
@uncertainties="Idev" : NX_CHAR
@scaling_factor="I_scaling" : NX_CHAR
Idev : NX_NUMBER
I_scaling : NX_NUMBER
@uncertainties="I_scaling_dev" : NX_CHAR
I_scaling_dev : NX_NUMBER


The exact names for I_scaling and I_scaling_dev are not defined by NXcanSAS. The user has the flexibility to use names different than those shown in this example.

Idev: (optional) NX_NUMBER

Estimated uncertainty (usually standard deviation) in $$I$$. Must have the same units as $$I$$.

When present, the name of this field is also recorded in the uncertainties attribute of I, as in:

I/@uncertainties="Idev"


@units: (required) NX_CHAR

Engineering units to use when expressing $$I$$ and intensity-related terms.

Data expressed in other units (or missing a @units attribute) will generate a warning from any validation process and will be treated as arbitrary by some analysis software packages.

For software using the UDUNITS-2 library, arbitrary will be changed to unknown for handling with that library.

Any of these values:

• 1/m: includes m2/m3 and 1/m/sr

• 1/cm: includes cm2/cm3 and 1/cm/sr

• m2/g

• cm2/g

• arbitrary

Qdev: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_PER_LENGTH}

Estimated $$Q$$ resolution (usually standard deviation). Must have the same units as $$Q$$.

When present, the name of this field is also recorded in the resolutions attribute of Q, as in:

Q/@resolutions="Qdev"


or:

Q/@resolutions="dQw", "dQl"


@units: (required) NX_CHAR

Engineering units to use when expressing $$Q$$ and related terms.

Data expressed in other units may not be processed by some software packages.

Any of these values:

• 1/m

• 1/nm: preferred

• 1/angstrom

dQw: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_PER_LENGTH}

$$Q$$ resolution along the axis of scanning (the high-resolution slit width direction). Useful for defining resolution data from slit-smearing instruments such as Bonse-Hart geometry. Must have the same units as $$Q$$.

When present, the name of this field is also recorded in the resolutions attribute of Q, as in:

Q/@resolutions="dQw", "dQl"


@units: (required) NX_CHAR

Engineering units to use when expressing $$Q$$ and related terms.

Data expressed in other units may not be processed by some software packages.

Any of these values:

• 1/m

• 1/nm: preferred

• 1/angstrom

dQl: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_PER_LENGTH}

$$Q$$ resolution perpendicular to the axis of scanning (the low-resolution slit length direction). Useful for defining resolution data from slit-smearing instruments such as Bonse-Hart geometry. Must have the same units as $$Q$$.

When present, the name of this field is also recorded in the resolutions attribute of Q, as in:

Q/@resolutions="dQw", "dQl"


@units: (required) NX_CHAR

Engineering units to use when expressing $$Q$$ and related terms.

Data expressed in other units may not be processed by some software packages.

Any of these values:

• 1/m

• 1/nm: preferred

• 1/angstrom

Qmean: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_PER_LENGTH}

Mean value of $$Q$$ for this data point. Useful when describing data that has been binned from higher-resolution data.

It is expected that Q is provided and that both Q and Qmean will have the same units.

@units: (required) NX_CHAR

Engineering units to use when expressing $$Q$$ and related terms.

Data expressed in other units may not be processed by some software packages.

Any of these values:

• 1/m

• 1/nm: preferred

• 1/angstrom

A numerical factor applied to pixels affected by the beam stop penumbra. Used in data files from NIST/NCNR instruments.

See: J.G. Barker and J.S. Pedersen (1995) J. Appl. Cryst. 28, 105-114.

INSTRUMENT: (optional) NXinstrument

Description of the small-angle scattering instrument.

Consider, carefully, the relevance to the SAS data analysis process when adding subgroups in this NXinstrument group. Additional information can be added but will likely be ignored by standardized data anlysis processes.

The NeXus NXbeam base class may be added as a subgroup of this NXinstrument group or as a subgroup of the NXsample group to describe properties of the beam at any point downstream from the source.

@canSAS_class: (required) NX_CHAR

Official canSAS group: NXcanSAS (applications); SASinstrument

Obligatory value: SASinstrument

APERTURE: (optional) NXaperture

NXaperture is generic and limits the variation in data files.

Possible NeXus base class alternatives are: NXpinhole or NXslit.

@canSAS_class: (required) NX_CHAR

Official canSAS group: NXcanSAS (applications); SASaperture

Obligatory value: SASaperture

shape: (required) NX_CHAR

describe the type of aperture (pinhole, 4-blade slit, Soller slit, …)

x_gap: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_LENGTH}

opening along the $$x$$ axis

y_gap: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_LENGTH}

opening along the $$y$$ axis

COLLIMATOR: (optional) NXcollimator

Description of a collimating element (defines the divergence of the beam) in the instrument.

To document a slit, pinhole, or the beam, refer to the documentation of the NXinstrument group above.

@canSAS_class: (required) NX_CHAR

Official canSAS group: NXcanSAS (applications); SAScollimation

Obligatory value: SAScollimation

length: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_LENGTH}

Amount/length of collimation inserted (as on a SANS instrument)

distance: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_LENGTH}

Distance from this collimation element to the sample

DETECTOR: (optional) NXdetector

Description of a detector in the instrument.

@canSAS_class: (required) NX_CHAR

Official canSAS group: NXcanSAS (applications); SASdetector

Obligatory value: SASdetector

name: (required) NX_CHAR

Identifies the name of this detector

SDD: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_LENGTH}

Distance between sample and detector.

Note: In NXdetector, the distance field records the distance to the previous component … most often the sample. This use is the same as SDD for most SAS instruments but not all. For example, Bonse-Hart cameras have one or more crystals between the sample and detector.

We define here the field SDD to document without ambiguity the distance between sample and detector.

slit_length: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_PER_LENGTH}

Slit length of the instrument for this detector, expressed in the same units as $$Q$$.

x_position: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_LENGTH}

Location of the detector in $$x$$

y_position: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_LENGTH}

Location of the detector in $$y$$

roll: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_ANGLE}

Rotation of the detector about the $$z$$ axis (roll)

pitch: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_ANGLE}

Rotation of the detector about the $$x$$ axis (roll)

yaw: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_ANGLE}

Rotation of the detector about the $$y$$ axis (yaw)

beam_center_x: (optional) NX_FLOAT {units=NX_LENGTH}

Position of the beam center on the detector.

This is the x position where the direct beam would hit the detector plane. This is a length and can be outside of the actual detector. The length can be in physical units or pixels as documented by the units attribute. The value can be any real number (positive, zero, or negative).

beam_center_y: (optional) NX_FLOAT {units=NX_LENGTH}

Position of the beam center on the detector.

This is the y position where the direct beam would hit the detector plane. This is a length and can be outside of the actual detector. The length can be in physical units or pixels as documented by the units attribute. The value can be any real number (positive, zero, or negative).

x_pixel_size: (optional) NX_FLOAT {units=NX_LENGTH}

Size of each detector pixel. If it is scalar all pixels are the same size

y_pixel_size: (optional) NX_FLOAT {units=NX_LENGTH}

Size of each detector pixel. If it is scalar all pixels are the same size

SOURCE: (optional) NXsource

@canSAS_class: (required) NX_CHAR

Official canSAS group: NXcanSAS (applications); SASsource

Obligatory value: SASsource

DEPRECATED: Use either (or both) probe or type fields from NXsource (issue #765)

Name of the radiation used. Note that this is not the name of the facility!

This field contains a value from either the probe or type fields in NXsource. Thus, it is redundant with existing NeXus structure.

Any of these values:

• Spallation Neutron Source

• Pulsed Reactor Neutron Source

• Reactor Neutron Source

• Synchrotron X-ray Source

• Pulsed Muon Source

• Rotating Anode X-ray

• Fixed Tube X-ray

• UV Laser

• Free-Electron Laser

• Optical Laser

• Ion Source

• UV Plasma Source

• neutron

• x-ray

• muon

• electron

• ultraviolet

• visible light

• positron

• proton

beam_shape: (optional) NX_CHAR

Text description of the shape of the beam (incident on the sample).

incident_wavelength: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_WAVELENGTH}

wavelength ($$\lambda$$) of radiation incident on the sample

wavelength_min: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_WAVELENGTH}

Some facilities specify wavelength using a range. This is the lowest wavelength in such a range.

wavelength_max: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_WAVELENGTH}

Some facilities specify wavelength using a range. This is the highest wavelength in such a range.

Some facilities specify wavelength using a range. This is the width (FWHM) of such a range.

beam_size_x: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_LENGTH}

Size of the incident beam along the x axis.

beam_size_y: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_LENGTH}

Size of the incident beam along the y axis.

SAMPLE: (optional) NXsample

Description of the sample.

@canSAS_class: (required) NX_CHAR

Official canSAS group: NXcanSAS (applications); SASsample

Obligatory value: SASsample

name: (required) NX_CHAR

ID: Text string that identifies this sample.

thickness: (optional) NX_FLOAT {units=NX_LENGTH}

Thickness of this sample

transmission: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_DIMENSIONLESS}

Transmission ($$I/I_0$$) of this sample. There is no units attribute as this number is dimensionless.

Note: the ability to store a transmission spectrum, instead of a single value, is provided elsewhere in the structure, in the SAStransmission_spectrum element.

temperature: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_TEMPERATURE}

Temperature of this sample.

details: (optional) NX_CHAR

x_position: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_LENGTH}

Location of the sample in $$x$$

y_position: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_LENGTH}

Location of the sample in $$y$$

roll: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_ANGLE}

Rotation of the sample about the $$z$$ axis (roll)

pitch: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_ANGLE}

Rotation of the sample about the $$x$$ axis (roll)

yaw: (optional) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_ANGLE}

Rotation of the sample about the $$y$$ axis (yaw)

PROCESS: (optional) NXprocess

Description of a processing or analysis step.

Add additional fields as needed to describe value(s) of any variable, parameter, or term related to the SASprocess step. Be sure to include units attributes for all numerical fields.

@canSAS_class: (required) NX_CHAR

Official canSAS group: NXcanSAS (applications); SASprocess

Obligatory value: SASprocess

name: (optional) NX_CHAR

Optional name for this data processing or analysis step

date: (optional) NX_DATE_TIME

Optional date for this data processing or analysis step. 2

2(1,2,3)

ISO-8601 standard time representation.

NeXus dates and times are reported in ISO-8601 (e.g., yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss) or modified ISO-8601 (e.g., yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss).

See: http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601 for more details.

description: (optional) NX_CHAR

Optional description for this data processing or analysis step

term: (optional) NX_CHAR

Specifies the value of a single variable, parameter, or term (while defined here as a string, it could be a number) related to the SASprocess step.

Note: The name term is not required, it could take any name, as long as the name is unique within this group.

NOTE: (optional) NXnote

Any additional notes or subprocessing steps will be documented here.

An NXnote group can be added to any NeXus group at or below the NXentry group. It is shown here as a suggestion of a good place to consider its use.

COLLECTION: (optional) NXcollection

Any content not defined in the canSAS standard can be placed at this point.

Note: The name of this group is flexible, it could take any name, as long as it is unique within the NXprocess group.

@canSAS_class: (required) NX_CHAR

Official canSAS group: NXcanSAS (applications); SASprocessnote

Obligatory value: SASprocessnote

COLLECTION: (optional) NXcollection

Free form description of anything not covered by other elements.

@canSAS_class: (required) NX_CHAR

Official canSAS group: NXcanSAS (applications); SASnote

Obligatory value: SASnote

TRANSMISSION_SPECTRUM: (optional) NXdata

The SAStransmission_spectrum element

This describes certain data obtained from a variable-wavelength source such as pulsed-neutron source.

The name of each SAStransmission_spectrum group must be unique within a SASentry group. Suggest using names such as sastransmission_spectrum01.

@canSAS_class: (required) NX_CHAR

Official canSAS group: NXcanSAS (applications); SAStransmission_spectrum

Obligatory value: SAStransmission_spectrum

@signal: (required) NX_CHAR

Name of the default data field.

Obligatory value:

• T: For SAStransmission_spectrum, this is always “T”.

@T_axes: (required) NX_CHAR

Obligatory value:

• T: the wavelengths field (as a dimension scale) corresponding to this transmission

@name: (required) NX_CHAR

Identify what type of spectrum is being described. It is expected that this value will take either of these two values:

value

meaning

sample

measurement with the sample and container

can

measurement with just the container

@timestamp: (optional) NX_DATE_TIME

ISO-8601 time 2

lambda: (required) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_WAVELENGTH}

This array is of the same shape as T and Tdev.

T: (required) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_DIMENSIONLESS}

Transmission values ($$I/I_0$$) as a function of wavelength.

This array is of the same shape as lambda and Tdev.

@uncertainties: (required) NX_CHAR

Names the dataset (in this SASdata group) that provides the uncertainty of each transmission $$T$$ to be used for data analysis. The name of the dataset containing the $$T$$ uncertainty is expected to be Tdev.

Typically:

@uncertainties=”Tdev”

Tdev: (required) NX_NUMBER {units=NX_DIMENSIONLESS}

Estimated uncertainty (usually standard deviation) in $$T$$. Must have the same units as $$T$$.

This is the field is named in the uncertainties attribute of T, as in:

T/@uncertainties="Tdev"


This array is of the same shape as lambda and T.

Hypertext Anchors¶

Table of hypertext anchors for all groups, fields, attributes, and links defined in this class.

Tip

Use the reST anchors when writing documentation in NXDL source files. Since the anchors have no title or caption associated, you will need to supply text with the reference, such as:

:ref:this text will appear <anchor>


Since these anchors are absolute references, they may be used anywhere in the documentation source (that is, within XML <doc> structures in .nxdl.xml files or in .rst files).

NXDL Source:

https://github.com/nexusformat/definitions/blob/main/applications/NXcanSAS.nxdl.xml