Development over the weekend. Results to come. Restart source now and let it warm up. 4He2+ on FC6. Plasma at zero, to duplicate weekend settings. Arc at 150V. FC6 ~=150enA and settling down presently, IG1 = 2e-7 Torr.

Later ~10:00: FC6 ~500enA. Mass scans next.

Later ~14:00: Some scans done. Outcomes to come. Meanwhile, Marco Lovera has manufactured a new aperture for the CUSP source frontplate. It has a larger diameter, therefore should allow a brighter, if more diffuse, beam out of the source. Preparations for venting and installation are in progress now.

4He2+ "alpha" CUSP source under vacuum: IOS:IG1=7.3e-7 Torr. Electrical installations today.

I3 development source also at vacuum: 2.7e-6 Torr, which is better than when we started. TP gauge: 1.0e-7 Torr.

Later... Begin leak checking. Note: IOS:BP1 needs servicing. Its base pressure is ~30mT.

* Gas inlet on backplate already plugged off. Tighten. OK. Improvement in IOS:IG1.

 No other leaks found at this time.

Keerthi found and fixed a couple more vacuum leaks last night. Present vacuum at IOS:IG1 = 4.4e-7 Torr. Electrical and water services installation in progress right now.

Later... Most of the services installed. Water tested: mostly OK, but persistent leaks on fiddly source body seals. Let Keerthi adjust these tomorrow. Power supplies wiring mostly done. A couple of source body connections await, plus primary power work by electricians. All in all, it's taking shape.

Services completed today. There are still some teething pains, particularly the arc p/s as noted earlier. But we did have some beam on around noon for the first time, using neon source gas. Plan is to install helium source gas at the last minute, after all other checks, particularly leak checks, and a background calibration are done.

Later... IOS:BP1 made some clanking noises about a half hour ago, something like a car I used to own. Pump vacuum bumped at the time. See stripchart below. Quiet now, and pressure okay. ICR is keeping a watch.

Later... I closed off the source gas hand valve at 18:00 for the night, in case the scroll pump breaks and ICR has to shut down the turbos, etc.

Arc power supply replaced. Water leaks down to one or two pinholes on source body; manageable. Minor mechanical in progress.

Vacuum Group experts looked at IOS:BP1, reported noisy for a minute yesterday. Basically, keep a watch. It should be okay to Shutdown. We will order a seal kit and negotiate for a backup scroll pump.

Later... Electrical is complete and tested. Arc and filament power supplies run in local mode only, with insulated knob extenders through the cage wall. The source is ready for testing. As noted yesterday, source gas is off presently.

In a little while, I will secure and enable the cage and ask ICR to perform an IOSIOC reboot test for us.

Keerthi and Marco achieved visible 4He2+ through the RFQ on Friday (or so). Mass spec attached. Development continues today.

Update: First visible A/q=2 beam through the RFQ at about 14:00 on Friday, December 18th, seen on M:5, an historic milestone for ISAC. Beam later observed on MEBT spectrometer around 16:00.

Today we installed the CUSP "alpha" source on the MWS port at OLIS. It is vacuum-tight. Looking good. Also we installed remaining components on the prototype I3 source yesterday and pumped overnight. Vacuum there is good too. Next week is looking like a marathon source week. I also understand that a new target for ISAC tested well at the ISAC Test Stand today. A hat trick.

We completed the services by end of last week. Of course they could always be better, but everything is fine for this iteration. Keerthi had a first beam out of the source (to FC3) on Friday, with no source gas flowing. Today we started it up, and got first beam this morning. First 4He beam was observed on FC6 at around 10:45, and 4He2+ a few minutes later. Plenty of development to go, but it works.

We completed the services by end of last week. Of course they could always be better, but everything is fine for this iteration. Keerthi had a first beam out of the source (to FC3) on Friday, with no source gas flowing. Today we started it up, and got first beam this morning. First 4He beam was observed on FC6 at around 10:45, and 4He2+ a few minutes later. Plenty of development to go, but it works.

Later... Light it up and tweak. Filament is at 125A and arc at 100V. Bias is 10kV. 4He2+ on FC6 = 580enA. Save: 091130_1600.snapiocf6

Let it sit for a while. Filament p/s is running in local and V regulating mode for safety.

Latter... Stripchart attached of beam and playing over the last hour. It would be nice to have a loop adjusting the EL against SK-MSBR, which seems to track beam at FC6 quite well. Source on for the night to condition. ICR apprised.

We received back the source this morning. First order of business was to take some EOB scans. See earlier entry. Then we shut down the source and opened the cage. Water leaks fixed. We had agreed with ICR to let them go for the sake of continuous beam to our users, so that we could avoid switching off the source. All done. There is a little weeping on one or two of the source body screws, as expected. As a practical matter, we aren't going to fix these.

Research-grade helium gas and lines hooked up today. Metering valve installed inline. Lines are pumping now. One-pass helium purge done.

Note: We had first beam today from the I3 development H- ion source, presently set up in the CRM on a borrowed test stand. Yes!

The CUSP source ran well overnight, notwithstanding local control of source power supplies. Filament supply had dropped to 115A this morning, which is approximately 10A over a 16 hour period. Attached are charts of 4He2+ beam on FC6, an archive chart and a fast stripchart of the last six hours. Shortly we will begin setup for an 8pi shakedown run today.

Pumps were switched off last night. IOS was vented to Ar and swiped clean this morning. MCIS ready for disembarking from F-cage. IOS:IV0 defeated so that we could vent the IM with IOS as one volume.

Later... Supernanogan cart is parked at its service dock. TP1 & 2 are up.

OLIS was shut down over Christmas. We did a "soft start" of the MWS last Tuesday, after refurbishing and installation before Christmas. Worked like a jet.

Today: 4He2+ beam development + emittance scans. Here is the best so far.

FTR: Emittance scan is reverse-biased from external battery.

The MWS stayed up flawlessly overnight. Beam grew from about 2µA to over 5µA this morning. Was it the pre-conditioning of the RF generator? We will look at the beam for a bit now, then shut it down for Christmas.

So... lots has happened.

* Supernanogan *

Heater components installed in plasma chamber. Cart reinstalled into Faraday cage. Scroll pump rebuilt! (Thanks, Dan and Edi!) Pumping started this morning.

* Microwave Source *

Wiring restored. Microwave backplate and components restored. Pumping started yesterday and at high vac now ~2e-7 Torr. We will make final inspections and tweaks, then prepare to start.

Later... Source started and first beam observed at ~15:00. Note: Since microwave generator has not been run for a number of months, we did a "soft start", warming up at a few watts at a time for several minutes at a time before going for the gusto. Emittance scans in progress. Done. Beam is a bit off-axis, but it's there. Let it cook for the night. Striptool running.

MCIS-

the cart was moved into the HV cage.  The facilities will be connected and an oven will be tested for the upcoming Se experiment.

Will take measurements for installation of key interlocks on cart power supplies.

SIS-

the filament assembly was removed for inspection.  When increasing the ionizer current it would work correctly until about 20 amps.  Then the current would stop (like an open cct).

MWS-

will prepare for Be later this week.

The nitrogen bottle needs to be replaced.

MCIS-

Does not appear to be producing very much Se.  There is a lot of calcium and potassium.

Cart is removed.  Unplugged CPI amplifier.   No extra time for investigation.  Set-up required for MWS.

note:  one cart wheel is damaged.  will need to service, or replace in s/d.  other wheels will need to be check as well.

MWS-

Changed to Be plasma electrode for upcoming experiment.

MCIS-

a new oven assembly was installed on the MCIS yesterday.  The cart has been installed in the cage and is connected.

The power is connected to the cart oven as is the MCIS bias.  it is currently on and being tested for Se

MWS-

Keerthi removed the Be electrode and installed the quartz beaker.  There is quite a bit of a copper coating inside the source.

MCIS-

the MWS Bias and PE have been moved on to the MCIS (the MCIS connections have been removed).

The plug in power to the HP Signal generator has been moved to a continuous source (Removed from the source controlled by the SSW).

SIS-

a test filament assembly has been installed in the SIS.  No chemicals have been loaded or alignment done on the oven / ionizer.  It has been installed just as a test.

MCIS-

the source is off.  It is under vacuum and in the HV cage.

SIS-

the test filament assembly has been removed for inspection and the port blanked.  Ray D. noticed that the Swagelok connections for the water manifold are extremely close to each other (potential short).  Yesterday, when reducing the current on the ionizer the voltage varied significantly.  The currently on the FC also changed.

The temporary collimator installed in the 4-1/2 CF port has been modified.  the through hole opening has been increased from 3mm diameter to 6mm diameter.