STM32-Based Data Acquisition and Python GUI for a Low-Cost FourLED Continuous-Wave OSL Reader

Abstract

The optical and electronic design of a low-cost continuous-wave optically stimulated luminescence (CW-OSL) reader built around an STM32F103C8T6 (ARM Cortex-M3) microcontroller. Here we describe the software that turns that hardware into an automated instrument: a minimal serial firmware that times the LED-stimulation relay and streams three digitized analogue channels, and a Python/ Tkinter host application that configures a run, plots the decay curve in real time, and exports the data as a spreadsheet and an image. We give the serial protocol, the resolution and sampling-rate budget set by the 12-bit ADC and the USB-serial link, and the operator workflow, and identify weaknesses – an inconsistency between the acquisition delay implied by the GUI and the firmware, no timestamp resolution better than 1 ms, and no handshake or checksum on the link – together with the changes needed to remove them.