Hystorian: A processing tool for scanning probe microscopy and other n-dimensional datasets

Highlights: • Hystorian streamlines data processing and archiving for research. • Proprietary file formats convert to HDF5 while preserving physical metadata. • Wrapper functions maximise ease of use for different workflows. • In-built functions simplify scanning probe microscopy and x-ray diffraction analysis. Research in materials science increasingly depends on the correlation of information from multiple characterisation techniques, acquired in ever larger datasets. Efficient methods of processing and storing these complex datasets are therefore crucial. Reliably keeping track of data processing is also essential to conform with the goals of open science. Here, we introduce Hystorian, a generic materials science data analysis Python package built at its core to improve the traceability, reproducibility, and archival ability of data processing. Proprietary data formats are converted into open hierarchical data format (HDF5) files, with both datasets and subsequent workflows automatically stored into a single location, thus allowing easy management of multiple data types. At present, Hystorian provides a basic scanning probe microscopy and x-ray diffraction analysis toolkit, and is readily extensible to suit user needs. It is also able to wrap over any existing processing functions, making it easy to append in an extant workflow.