Zaber Motion LibraryGetting StartedHow-to GuidesSupportBinary Protocol (Legacy)
API Reference
zaber_motion.ascii
AlertEventAllAxesAxisAxisGroupAxisIdentityAxisSettingsAxisStorageAxisTypeConnectionConversionFactorDeviceDeviceIdentityDeviceIODeviceIOInfoDeviceSettingsDeviceStorageDigitalOutputActionGetAxisSettingGetAxisSettingResultGetSettingGetSettingResultIoPortLabelIoPortTypeLockstepMeasurementSequenceMessageTypeOscilloscopeOscilloscopeCapturePropertiesOscilloscopeDataOscilloscopeDataSourceParamsetInfoPidTuningPvtPvtAxisDefinitionPvtAxisTypePvtBufferPvtCallActionPvtCancelAllOutputsScheduleActionPvtCancelOutputScheduleActionPvtCsvDataPvtIoPvtModePvtPartialCsvDataPvtPartialPointPvtPartialSequenceItemPvtPointPvtSequencePvtSequenceItemPvtSetAllAnalogOutputsActionPvtSetAllDigitalOutputsActionPvtSetAnalogOutputActionPvtSetDigitalOutputActionResponseServoTunerServoTuningParamServoTuningParamsetSetStateAxisResponseSetStateDeviceResponseSettingConstantsSimpleTuningSimpleTuningParamDefinitionStreamStreamAxisDefinitionStreamAxisTypeStreamBufferStreamIoStreamModeStreamsTransportTriggerTriggerActionTriggerConditionTriggerEnabledStateTriggerOperationTriggersTriggerStateUnknownResponseEventWarningFlagsWarnings
zaber_motion.binary
BinarySettingsCommandCodeConnectionDeviceDeviceIdentityDeviceSettingsDeviceTypeErrorCodeMessageReplyCodeReplyOnlyEventUnknownResponseEvent
zaber_motion.exceptions
MotionLibExceptionBinaryCommandFailedExceptionDataCommandFailedExceptionDataCommandTooLongExceptionDataDeviceAddressConflictExceptionDataDeviceDbFailedExceptionDataDeviceDbInnerErrorGCodeExecutionExceptionDataGCodeSyntaxExceptionDataInvalidPacketExceptionDataInvalidPvtPointInvalidResponseExceptionDataMovementFailedExceptionDataMovementInterruptedExceptionDataOperationFailedExceptionDataPvtExecutionExceptionDataPvtMovementFailedExceptionDataPvtMovementInterruptedExceptionDataSetDeviceStateExceptionDataSetPeripheralStateExceptionDataStreamExecutionExceptionDataStreamMovementFailedExceptionDataStreamMovementInterruptedExceptionData
zaber_motion.gcode
AxisDefinitionAxisMappingAxisTransformationDeviceDefinitionOfflineTranslatorTranslateMessageTranslateResultTranslatorTranslatorConfig
zaber_motion.microscopy
AutofocusAutofocusStatusCameraTriggerFilterChangerIlluminatorIlluminatorChannelMicroscopeMicroscopeConfigObjectiveChangerThirdPartyComponentsWdiAutofocusProviderWdiAutofocusProviderStatus
zaber_motion.product
ProcessProcessControllerProcessControllerModeProcessControllerSourceProcessControllerSourceSensor
zaber_motion
AxisAddressChannelAddressCyclicDirectionDeviceDbSourceDeviceDbSourceTypeDeviceDiscoveryResultDevicePortTypeFirmwareVersionLibraryLogOutputModeMeasurementNamedParameterRotationDirectionToolsUnitConversionDescriptorUnitsUnitTable
© 2026 Zaber Technologies Inc.

API Reference v9.1.0

IlluminatorChannelclass

Module: zaber_motion.microscopy

Use to control a channel (LED lamp) on an illuminator. Requires at least Firmware 7.09.

The following example illustrates how you can obtain an instance of this type:

from zaber_motion.ascii import Connection
from zaber_motion.microscopy import Microscope

connection = Connection.open_serial_port('COM3')
microscope = Microscope.find(connection)
illuminator = microscope.illuminator
illuminator_channel = illuminator.get_channel(1)
Related Guides:

Index

pProperties
mMethods

Properties

p

channel_number

readonly
illuminator_channel.channel_number
int The channel number identifies the channel on the illuminator.
p

illuminator

readonly
illuminator_channel.illuminator
Illuminator Illuminator of this channel.
p

settings

readonly
illuminator_channel.settings
AxisSettings Settings and properties of this channel.
p

storage

readonly
illuminator_channel.storage
AxisStorage Key-value storage of this channel.
p

warnings

readonly
illuminator_channel.warnings
Warnings Warnings and faults of this channel.

Methods

m

generic_command()

async available
illuminator_channel.generic_command(command, check_errors = True, timeout = 0)
Sends a generic ASCII command to this channel. For more information refer to: ASCII Protocol Manual.
Arguments
NameTypeDescription
commandstrCommand and its parameters.
check_errorsboolControls whether to throw an exception when the device rejects the command.
timeoutintThe timeout, in milliseconds, for a device to respond to the command. Overrides the connection default request timeout.
Return Value
Response A response to the command.
m

generic_command_multi_response()

async available
illuminator_channel.generic_command_multi_response(command, check_errors = True, timeout = 0)
Sends a generic ASCII command to this channel and expects multiple responses. Responses are returned in order of arrival. For more information refer to: ASCII Protocol Manual.
Arguments
NameTypeDescription
commandstrCommand and its parameters.
check_errorsboolControls whether to throw an exception when a device rejects the command.
timeoutintThe timeout, in milliseconds, for a device to respond to the command. Overrides the connection default request timeout.
Return Value
List[Response] All responses to the command.
m

generic_command_no_response()

async available
illuminator_channel.generic_command_no_response(command)
Sends a generic ASCII command to this channel without expecting a response and without adding a message ID For more information refer to: ASCII Protocol Manual.
Arguments
NameTypeDescription
commandstrCommand and its parameters.
m

get_intensity()

async available
illuminator_channel.get_intensity()
Gets the current intensity of this channel.
Return Value
float Current intensity as fraction of maximum flux.
m

get_state()

async available
illuminator_channel.get_state()
Returns a serialization of the current channel state that can be saved and reapplied.
Return Value
str A serialization of the current state of the channel.
m

is_on()

async available
illuminator_channel.is_on()
Checks if this channel is on.
Return Value
bool True if channel is on, false otherwise.
m

off()

async available
illuminator_channel.off()
Turns this channel off.
m

on()

async available
illuminator_channel.on(duration = None)
Turns this channel on.
Arguments
NameTypeDescription
durationOptional[Measurement]Duration for which to turn the channel on. If not specified, the channel remains on until turned off.
m

set_intensity()

async available
illuminator_channel.set_intensity(intensity)
Sets channel intensity as a fraction of the maximum flux.
Arguments
NameTypeDescription
intensityfloatFraction of intensity to set (between 0 and 1).
m

set_on()

async available
illuminator_channel.set_on(on)
Turns this channel on or off.
Arguments
NameTypeDescription
onboolTrue to turn channel on, false to turn it off.
m

set_state()

async available
illuminator_channel.set_state(state)
Applies a saved state to this channel.
Arguments
NameTypeDescription
statestrThe state object to apply to this channel.
Return Value
SetStateAxisResponse Reports of any issues that were handled, but caused the state to not be exactly restored.
m

__repr__()

illuminator_channel.__repr__()
Returns a string that represents the channel.
Return Value
str A string that represents the channel.