Tuesday, May 28, 2013, 17:36

The target containers endcaps were coated with TaC solution and let dry. 

Each cap is wrapped with a small piece of graphite foil and inserted in the target boat.

The chamber is currently being pumped down. 

The HS cooling water valve will be opened tomorrow; any leak will be inspected.

When the vacuum is good,  TGHT will be ramped up to 580A. 

 Wednesday, May 29, 2013, 17:06

HS water valve was opened early this morning; no leaks were detected.

TGHT has stepped up to 50A.  IG is currently at 2.0e-6Torr. 

Initiated auto-ramping at 1.0A/min.

 Thursday, May 30, 2013, 11:12

TGHT reached to 580.  The end caps have been heated at that current for more than 7 hrs.

IG is coming down, currently at 8e-7 Torr.

Auto-cooling initiated, ramping down at 2A/min .

Monday, June 17, 2013, 16:57

Target is loaded with 510 SiC discs

Container was previously coated with TaC and sintered

SiC is wrapped with tantalum heat shield

Chamber is currently being pumped down

Laura Lambert wrote:

Monday, June 17, 2013, 16:57 Target is loaded with 510 SiC discs Container was previously coated with TaC and sintered SiC is wrapped with tantalum heat shield Chamber is currently being pumped down

 Tuesday, June 18, 2013, 16:16

HS water valves opened; no leaks were detected.

IG @ 8.9e-7 Torr.

Note: This target has a regular end cap inserted on one end, and the other with a D-cap. 

TGHT will be heated up to 820A and TBHT to 300A; ramping rate at 1A/min.

Stepped up TGHT/TBHT to 60A.  Vacuum slowly increasing... 

 Tuesday, June 18, 2013, 17:55

Stepped up TGHT/TBTH to 80A.  10 mins later, pressure went beyond the limit and tripped of the p/s.  F!

Allowed vacuum to come down below 8e-5 Torr.  Stepped down TGHT/TBHT to 50A.

Currently IG @ 4.8-5 Torr. 

Initiated auto-ramping:  setting: Good Vac = 3e-5 Torr, Bad Vac = 4.0e-5 Torr. 

 Thursday, June 20, 2013, 06:21

About 10 min ago, Evap tripped off due to high vacuum. 

Vacuum came back down below the trip limit and both TGHT/TBHT p/s were stepped down to 40A and turned back on.

Changed auto ramping rate to 05A/120min.  

The process continues...  (And I'm going back to sleep!) 

 Friday, June 21, 2013, 15:19

Vacuum is close to the trip limit. 

Change the ramping rate to 0.2A/120min. 

 Monday, June 24, 2013, 17:04

Organic burnt out is complete and vacuum has come down to ~9.0e-6 Torr.

Increase ramping rate to 0.2A/60min - The sintering process should take about another 2 days if everything goes smoothly. 

 Wednesday, June 26, 2013, 17:29

TGHT & TBHT have reached to 820A and 300A, respectively, for 4 hours.

Vacuum is at 9e-7 Torr. 

Cooling down is in progress, at a rate of 1.0A/min for TGHT and 0.5A/min for TBHT.

The target will be ready to come out by tomorrow.

 Thursday, June 27, 2013, 11:02

TGHT/TBHT reached to 0A.  Vacuum is leveled at 1.2e-7 Torr. 

Chamber will be vented in air soon.

Monday, July 22, 2013, 15:00

Target container is coated with TaC - this container will be used for UCx#7.

Container is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta, including the back-block.

For the sintering process:

TGHT will be ramped up to 580A at 0.2A/min

TBHT will be ramped up to 230A at 0.2A/min.

Chamber has been pumped down.  HS cooling H2O valves are opened, and no leaks are detected. 

Currently IGP1 @ 7.03e-6 Torr. 

 Monday, July 22, 2013, 15:19

TGHT/TBHT was stepped up to 20A.  Pressure increased to ~1.2e-5 Torr.

Auto-ramping initiated...

 Wednesday, July 24, 2013, 18:40

TGHT and TBHT have reached to 580A/230A, respectively.  Target has been heated for ~4 hours at that max current.

Vacuum currently at 1.65e-6 Torr.

Auto-cooling initiated... (TGHT @ -1A/min, TBHT -0.5A/min)

Target will be vented in air tomorrow.

Laura Lambert wrote:

Thursday, August 08, 2013, 15:19 NiO target materials loaded into the container yesterday. Total discs = 530, (5 discs/pack) length [after loaded] = 9.0cm Target container is wrapped with Ta-heat shields, and will be removed after sintering process. No end caps were inserted. The chamber has been pumped down and currently IG1 = 3.8x10-06 Torr. The HS cooling water was turned on and no leaks were detected. TGHT and TBHT have been stepped up to 50A. Auto-ramping setting: 0.2A/min for TGHT max = 250A, TBHT max = 230A. Good vacuum = 3.00e-05 Torr Bad vacuum = 4.00e-05 Torr **See attachment #1 for pictures of target pre-sintering

 Thursday, August 08, 2013, 17:26

Pressure is stabilizing at ~2.2e-5 Torr.  TGHT/TBHT at 50A.

Initiated auto-ramping... 

Sunday, August 11, 2013, 21:30  

TGHT/TBHT have reached to 250A/230A.  Target have been heated over the weekend.  

Cooling down initiated; 2A/min.  

The chamber wil be vented in air tomorrow. 

 Monday, August 12, 2013, 18:01

The sinterring process is complete. 

The target is ready to be removed from the evaporator, and the endcaps will be inserted.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013, 12:28

Container is filled with 400 discs of Ta foils, and wrapped with 3 layers of Ta heat shields.

No caps are inserted during the conditioning. 

Chamber is currently being pumped down. 

 Wednesday, August 21, 2013, 15:54

HS cooling water valves opened, no leaks were detected.

IG @ 2.9e-6 Torr.

Heating setting:

TGHT max = 820A,

TBHT max = 230A

ramping rate 2A/min.

 Thursday, August 22, 2013, 12:45

TGHT/TBHT reached to 820A/230A, respectively. 

So much out-gassing was observed at the max currents.  (see attachment#1).

TGHT/TBHT are ramping down at 4A/min. 

Chamber will be vented in air.

The target will will be inspected.

More info later...

 Thursday, August 22, 2013, 16:44

Target was removed from the evaporator and inspected.

The container and the Ta materials look OK. 

The outgassing could be from the Ta-heat shields; they look burnt and brittle.

Overall, the target is good.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013, 16:48

Target boat is filled with TaC coated endcaps (brown) and some partial sinterred ones (gray) from before.  (see attachment#1).

The container is wrapped with Ta heat-shield.

Chamber has been pumped down; IG currently @ 7.3e-7 Torr. 

Heat-shield cooling water valves are open; no leaks are detected.

Initiated TGHT auto-ramping at 0.5A/min, set TGHT max at 580A.

 Wednesday, August 28, 2013, 16:09

TGHT has reached to 580A and been heated for over 4 hours.

IG is coming down, currently at 1.9 e-6 Torr.

Initiated auto-cooling.  2A/min. 

John Wong wrote:

Tuesday, August 27, 2013, 16:48 Target boat is filled with TaC coated endcaps (brown) and some partial sinterred ones (gray) from before.  (see attachment#1). The container is wrapped with Ta heat-shield. Chamber has been pumped down; IG currently @ 7.3e-7 Torr.  Heat-shield cooling water valves are open; no leaks are detected. Initiated TGHT auto-ramping at 0.5A/min, set TGHT max at 580A.  Wednesday, August 28, 2013, 16:09 TGHT has reached to 580A and been heated for over 4 hours. IG is coming down, currently at 1.9 e-6 Torr. Initiated auto-cooling.  2A/min.

 Thursday, August 29, 2013, 11:50

TGHT at 0 A

IG at 3.5e-7 Torr

Turning off EVAP2 and venting chamber

Process complete

Thursday, September 26, 2013, 13:04

The LP-IG-LIS target container is coated with TaC. 

Container is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta heat shield and about to go through the sintering process.

A thermocouple is inserted to measure the temperature inside the tube (1st attempt ever). 

Click on the link for detailed pictures:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6dc5arajg87mws9/6cU5OxjkZg

TGHT will be ramped up to 580A at 0.2A/min

TBHT will be ramped up to 230A at 0.2A/min.

Chamber has been pumped down.  HS cooling H2O valves are opened, and no leaks are detected. 

Currently IGP1 @ 5.9e-6 Torr.

 Thursday, September 26, 2013, 15:44

TGHT stepped up to 30A.  TBHT currently @ 0A. 

Temp @ 35C, Vac @ 1.4e-5 Torr.

 Monday, September 30, 2013, 14:54

The container was heated up to 580A TGHT/ 230A TBHT for a day (see attachment #1 for vac vs cur plot).

The temperature was measure at ~1780C. (see link for details: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d8d9j2t60qlm3jk/nkMh7dx_R8 )

The target was cooled down and vented. 

Proceed complete.

Friday, October 04, 2013, 15:37

A LP target container is coated with TaC.  The container is wrapped with 3 layers to heat shield.  

This container will be used for the graphite tube test.  

Chamber is being pumped down.

 The HS cooling water valves are open and no leaks are detected. 

TGHT will be ramped up to 580A at 0.2A/min

TBHT will be ramped up to 230A at 0.2A/min.

The temperature will be monitored and measured. 

 Sunday, October 06, 2013, 19:55

Tuesday, October 22, 2013, 16:49

The target was heated up to 580A and the temperature inside the tube was measured to be ~1800C and the outside surface was ~1400C.

The target was cooled down.  Then the graphite tube was inserted.

There are two thermcouples inserted inside the tube on both ends.

Chamber has been pumped down to 4.33 e-7 Torr.  No leaks were detected.

Target will be heated up again to TGHT @ 580A / TBHT @ 230A at 0.2A/min.

The temperatures will be monitored.

T1 = left (floating)

T2 = right (toughing C-grv tube)

(wtf ionizer pointing into the page).

 Thursday, October 24, 2013, 16:35

TGHT/TBHT reached to 580A/230A. 

T1 = 1642C

T2 = Error?? Reading goes on/off intermittently, showing 900 - 1900C

Thursday, October 24, 2013, 16:45 

Ramping up TGHT to 680A to see if T1 can reach 1700C.

IG1 currently at 5.2e-7 Torr.

 Friday, October 25, 2013, 12:30

TGHT was ramped up to 632A (stopped due to voltage limiting). 

T1 was measured at 1960C.  Vac went up as it was heated up.  (see attachment #2)

Target was cooled down at 5A/min, now at 0A.

The chamber will be vented and the target will be inspected.

This run is complete.

John Wong wrote:

Laura Lambert wrote: John Wong wrote: Laura Lambert wrote: John Wong wrote:  Wednesday, January 15, 2014, 17:30 Target container is coated with TaC.  No Ta-heat shields are used. TGHT will be ramped up to 580A at 0.2A/min.  TBHT will be ramped up to 230A at 0.2A/min.    Chamber is currently being pumped.  Tomorrow, the HS water valve can be opened to test for leaks.   Notes:  If everything is fine, TGHT/TBHT can be stepped up to 30A-50A.  Watch for the vacuum; once it's stable the auto ramping program can be initiated.   Once TGHT/TBHT reached above 200A, the ramping rate for TGHT can be increased up to 2A/min.  (This step is to speed up the process; however it's not mandatory)     Thursday, January 16, 2014, 11:35 Chamber was pumped down overnight to 10-7 Torr. HS water valve was opened and no leak in vacuum was observed. TGHT and TBHT were stepped up to 35A. Waited ~30min, current stabilized and vacuum starting to drop. Initiating auto-ramping: Good Vac = 2.0e-5 Torr, Bad Vac = 3.0e-5 Torr.    Friday, January 17, 2014, 09:28 TGHT/TBHT @ 300/200A.  TBHT voltage is limited at 3A.   TGHT ramping rate increased to 2A/min.  Pressure @ 4.5e-7 Torr.      Friday, January 17, 2014, 10:14 TBHT stopped at 200A with voltage limit sitting at 3V. Aborted auto-ramp, changed the voltage limit to 5V and increased ramping rate to 2A/min. Re-started auto-ramp. IGP1 @ 5.0e-7 Torr  Friday, January 17, 2014, 12:45 TGHT voltage limiting at 9.9V, and  current stayed at 560A.  Increased the TGHT voltage to 10.5V and continued ramping the heater up. TGHT/TBHT stabilized at 850A (~10V) and 230A(3.6V).  Pressure at 1.03e-6 Torr and coming down...  Target will be heated until 5pm (4hrs) before cooling down at the ramping rate of 2A/min.  Chamber will be vented in air, next week.  Friday, January 17, 2014, 16:51 Auto-cooling initiated at 2A/min. Vac @ 5.3e-7 Torr.

Laura Lambert wrote:

Laura Lambert wrote: Laura Lambert wrote: Laura Lambert wrote: John Wong wrote: John Wong wrote: Laura Lambert wrote: Laura Lambert wrote: Laura Lambert wrote: Laura Lambert wrote: Laura Lambert wrote:  Monday, January 20, 2014, 16:32 A new target boat was sprayed with TaC coating and let dry this morning. The target boat is NOT wrapped with Ta-heat shield. The boat was installed in Evap#2, chamber is currently being pumped down overnight.    Tuesday, January 21, 2014, 11:10 Chamber was pumped down to ~2e-7 Torr. HS cooling water valves were opened, no leaks detected. TGHT was stepped up to 35A, voltage max set at 13V. TBHT currently @ 0A. Waited ~20min, current stabilized, vacuum started to drop, auto-ramp initiated at 2.0A/min and max setpoint to 700A. Good vacuum: 3.00e-5 Torr, Bad vacuum 4.00e-5 Torr.    Tuesday, January 21, 2014, 11:51 Vacuum was grumpy and was well on it's way to tripping off [reached 5e-5 Torr], auto ramping was stopped at ~95A and quickly stepped down to 90A to avoid tripping it off. Allowed vacuum to settle back down to 2.3e-6 Torr. Auto ramping changed to 0.2A/min and re-started.  close-call!    Wednesday, January 22, 2014, 09:46 TGHT has been slowly ramping up overnight at a rate of 0.2A/min. IGP1 = 2.9e-7 Torr, TGHT = 342A; stepping ramping rate up to 2.0A/min.    Wednesday, January 22, 2014, 13:43 TGHT is sitting at 693A, IGP1 = 1.3e-6 Torr. Stepping up TGHT voltage up to 14V from 13.05V to reach the max current of 700A.    Wednesday, January 22, 2014, 15:09 TGHT reached to 700A/12.83V.  Local temperature on the boat surface was measured at ~1500C. Target will be heated for a few hours and will be cooled down later tonight. The chamber will be vented tomorrow and the boat will be inspected.    Wednesday, January 22, 2014, 18:09 After the boat was heated for ~4hrs, TGHT tripped off on IEVAP2:TBHT2 (see attachment #1, #2).  Tried clearing the water interlock via EPICS - failed to clear.  Checked the local water valves - ALL VALVES are OPEN  Tried closing and re-opening the IEVAP2:TBHT2 valves, interlock cleared after a few minutes.  Maybe a fault in the water signal.  If it happens again, the water signal should be replaced. Turned back on the power supply - TGHT current/voltage are holding.  Target boat may be OK! Chamber is a bit warm now.  Will allow time to cool down. Will vent the chamber tomorrow and the boat will be inspected.     Thursday, January 23, 2014, 16:18 Chamber vented overnight and was opened up this morning. Target boat not fully sintered [see attached photos]. Chamber currently being pumped down again in order to continue with sintering TaC coating. HS cooling water valves were opened, no leaks detected. Will ramp up to 700A again over the weekend.  Friday, January 24, 2014, 14:21 Chamber was pumped down to 1.7e-7 Torr. TGHT was stepped up to 35A, voltage max set at 14V. TBHT currently sitting at 0A. Waited 20min, vacuum consistently stable. Auto-ramp initiated at 2.0 A/min and max setpoint to 700A.    Monday, January 27, 2014, 10:05 TGHT reached 700A over the weekend. Measured temp @ 2000C. TGHT auto-cool inititated at 2.0A/min.    Tuesday, January 28, 2014, 11:53 Chamber cooled down overnight, vented and opened up this morning. Target boat still has a strip of green, still not fully sintered! [see attached photos]. Chamber currently being pumped down again to attempt sintering - round 3.

 Tuesday, January 28, 2014, 13:06

Discussed with Peter. Instead of re-sintering the whole boat by itself, end caps will be inserted for sintering and will be placed further down the boat where the sintering process appears complete.

 Friday, January 31, 2014, 11:28

Target container is coated with TaC.

The container is wrapped with 3 x Ta heat-shield.

Chamber was pumped down to 1.9e-7 Torr.

HS water valves were opened, no leak detected.

TGHT and TBHT were stepped up to 35A. Waited ~20min, current stabilized and vacuum starting to drop.

TGHT will be ramped up to 580A at 0.2A/min, max voltage = 11.05V.

TBHT will be ramped up to 230A at 0.2A/min, max volatge = 5V.

Initiating auto-ramping: Good Vac = 3.0e-5 Torr, Bad Vac = 4.0e-5 Torr.

 Monday, February 03, 2014, 10:21

TGHT reached 580A pver the weekend.

TBHT sitting at 1.4A, checked archive: never went over 1.6A. Aborted auto-ramp, re-starting auto ramp process for TBHT.

IGP1 = 1.6e-7 Torr.

 Monday, February 03, 2014, 15:23

TBHT running smoothly, must have been and electrical problem.

TBHT currently at 85A, vacuum has not changed, increasing TBHT auto-ramp to 2.0A/min

 Tuesday, February 04, 2014, 10:10

TBHT reached 230A yesterday pm. Measured temp this morning at 1800C.

Initiated TGHT/TBHT auto-cooling at 2.0A/min.

 Wednesday, February 05, 2014, 11:33

Chamber cooled down overnight, vented and opened up this morning.

Smooth run! Container fully sintered.

 Tuesday, February 11, 2014, 13:43

Target container is coated with TaC and wrapped with 3-Ta heat shields.

TGHT and TBHT will be ramped up to 820A and 300A, respectively.

Ramping rate set to 0.2A/min.

Good vac = 3e-5 Torr, Bad vac = 4e-5 Torr.

Chamber currently being pumped down...

 Tuesday, February 11, 2014, 16:33

Chamber pumped down to 2e-6 Torr.

HS cooling water valves opened; no leaks detected.

Will step up in the a.m.

 Wednesday, February 12, 2014, 11:41

IGP1 = 1.5e-7 Torr

TGHT max voltage = 17.05V, TBHT max voltage = 5V

Stepped TGHT and TBHT up to 35A

Waited 1hr15 before vacuum stabilized/ started to drop.

Initiating auto-ramping.

 Thursday, February 13, 2014, 10:19

TBHT and TGHT have both reached 300A

IGP1 = 2.4e-7 Torr.

Increasing TGHT auto-ramp to 2.0A/min

 Friday, February 14, 2014, 08:58

TGHT reached 820A yesterday afternoon. Measured internal temp this morning at 1300C.

Initiated TGHT auto-cooling at 2.0A/min and TBHT at 1.0A/min.

IGP1 = 3.2e-7 Torr.

 Monday, February 17, 2014, 12:02

Cooled down friday. Vented this morning.

Container fully sintered, smooth run!

 Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 12:12

A new target boat was sprayed with TaC coating and let dry.
The target boat is NOT wrapped with Ta-heat shield.

Thermocouples have been attached to the target boat in order to monitor the internal temperature of the new target boat design. 

The boat was installed in Evap#2, chamber is currently being pumped down.

 Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 14:20

Chamber was pumped down this morning to 2.9e-6 Torr. HS cooling water valves were opened, no leaks detected.

TGHT was stepped up to 35A, voltage max set at 14V. TBHT currently at 0A.

Waited ~20min, current stabilized, vacuum started to drop, auto-ramp initiated at 0.2A/min and max setpoint to 700A.

Good vacuum: 3.00e-5 Torr; Bad vacuum: 4.00e-5 Torr.

Temperature reading on left: thermocouple touching edge of target boat; temperature reading on right: thermocouple floating in center of target boat.

 Wednesday, February 19, 2014, 09:11

TGHT has been slowly ramping up overnight at a rate of 0.2A/min

IGP1 = 3.9e-7 Torr, TGHT = 260A; stepping ramping rate up to 2.0A/min

 Wednesday, February 19, 2014, 15:25

IGP1 = 9.4e-7 Torr

Thermocouple T2 = 1267.8C

Internal temp measured with Mikron = 1600C

Increasing max setpoint to 720A due to previous not fully sintered new design of target boat.

 Thursday, February 20, 2014, 09:17

Thermocouple T2 = 1254.5C

Internal temp measured with Mikron = 1811C

IGP1 = 2.6e-7 Torr

Reached max setpoint yesterday evening.

Initiating auto-cooling at 2.0A/min.

 Friday, February 21, 2014, 10:47

Vented and opened chamber this morning.

Target boat not fully sintered. [see attached photos]

Close to a full sinter, and will re-sinter next week with endcaps, so will not re-sinter by itself.

 Tuesday, February 25, 2014, 16:08

The target containers end-caps were coated with TaC spray and let dry.

The caps are inserted in the target boat vertically with no heat shield and no graphite foil. [see attached photo]

The chamber is currently being pumped down overnight.

 Wednesday, February 26, 2014, 09:54

Chamber was pumped down overnight to 4.2e-7 Torr.

HS cooling water valves opened; no leaks detected.

TGHT was stepped up to 35A, voltage max set at 14V. TBHT currently at 0A.

Waited ~20min, current stabilized, vacuum started to drop, auto-ramp initiated at 0.2A/min and max setpoint to 700A.

Will ramp up to 700A rather than the usual 580A due to last round of endcaps not fully sintering at 580A with new target boat design.

Good vacuum: 3.00e-5 Torr; Bad vacuum: 4.00e-5 Torr.

 Thursday, February 27, 2014, 09:38

TGHT has been slowly ramping up overnight at a rate of 0.2A/min.

IGP1 = 2.8e-7 Torr; TGHT = 311A, 4.3V

Stepping ramping rate up to 2.0A/min.

 Friday, February 28, 2014, 08:53

TGHT reached max setpoint of 700A yesterday evening.

Internal temp measured with Mikron = 1700C

IGP1 = 3e-7 Torr 

Power = 12.95V

Initiating auto-cooling at 2.0A/min.

 Monday, March 03, 2014, 11:46

Vented and opened chamber this morning.

End caps not fully sintered! 

See attached photo comparison of fully sintered [grey], partially sintered from this round [light green] and pre-sinter [dark green].

Will not bother re-sintering, as partial sinter is enough.

Laura Lambert wrote:

John Wong wrote:  Friday, March 21, 2014, 16:09 Target container is loaded with 360 Discs of TiC.   Target length = 11.7cm.   Total green mass = 40.945g  Container is wrapped with 3 Ta-heat shields, and have been pumped down in the chamber.  For the sintering process:  TGHT ramp up to 820A, and TGHT to 300A at 0.1A/min.  Friday, March 21, 2014, 16:15 TGHT/TBHT were manually stepped up to 40A.   Vac stabilizes at 1.7e-6 Torr.   Initiate auto-ramping...     Wednesday, March 26, 2014, 11:05 TBHT reached max desired current of 300A IGP1 = 1.4e-6 Torr TGHT = 543A Increasing TGHT auto-ramp to 2.0A/min

 Wednesday, March 26, 2014, 18:18

TGHT has reached to 820A\13.4V and target has been heated at that current for 4.5 hours.

Vac is coming down to 1.1e-6 Torr.

See link for RGA results: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/08dcxskux21aqap/1SF_dTJB4l

Cooling down in process at 2A/min for TGHT and 1A/min for TBHT.

 Thursday, March 27, 2014, 11:14

Target is cooled down.  TGHT/TBHT have reached to 0A. 

All pumps off; chamber will be vented soon. 

 Friday, March 28, 2014, 15:00

Target has been assembled.  Heat shield WO#39956-10

 Thursday, April 24, 2014, 17:25

The purpose of this experiment is to see if the carbon mesh is suitable for coating and sintering with uranium carbide.  For this test, the mesh is coated with WC slurry (previously prepared).

 The carbon mesh disks are bought from ERG aerospace corporation; the specifications of the mesh can be found on the link:  http://www.ergaerospace.com/RVC-properties.htm

Photos, EDX, SEM, RGA, etc... and be found on this link:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6ic932wu8yl9ad2/7rHFTiSzLY

Thursday, April 24, 2014, 17:51 

TEST #1:  Carbon Mesh, WC - RF sputtered - Then WC coated and sintered.

Target boat is loaded with a piece of WC coated carbon mesh (1/4 size cut out with the laser cutter).  Chamber is pumping down, currently at 3.2e-6 Torr.

HS water valve open - no leaks are detected. 

TGHT will be ramped up to 500A at 1.0A/min. 

RGA is running.  

Material temp will be measured... 

Monday, May 05, 2014, 17:35

Test #1:

TGHT was ramped up to 680A/13.77V.  Vacuum was at 1.62e-6 Torr (and coming down).  Carbon mesh was heated up to 1900C.   See the link to the dropbox above for more results.

Monday, May 05, 2014, 17:39

Test #2:  Carbon mesh (pure) coated with WC - then sintered. 

Chamber has been pumped down to 3.5 e-6 Torr. 

Sample will be heated up to 500A at 1.0A/min.  (Then step up to 680A while monitoring the vacuum).

RGA is running. 

 Wednesday, May 07, 2014, 14:36

Observations:

TGHT was at 650A/12.96V for 6 hrs and temperature was measured at 1930C. 

At some point after that (~20:40hr on May 6), the voltage went up to 14.77V (current remained constant at 650A), the temp went up 2110C - for only about 45 minute before the voltage dropped

back down to 12.53V and the temperature ~1800C.  Is the boat creaking more??? There were a few crack lines on the boat after Test#1. 

Today, TGHT was raised up to 725A and after an hour at that current the temperature was measured at 1930A. 

Now, at Wednesday, May 07, 2014, 14:47 - Lowered the current back to 685A/13.78V - temperature measured at 1900C. 

One thing to note... the vacuum is showing a lot of spikes but remains at around 7.5e-7 Torr. 

The RGA/Current/Voltage/Temp can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1yaa7ez3nydl67m/8v4ZRT2slq

Thursday, May 29, 2014, 16:56 

The process is done. Chamber was vented...

John Wong wrote:

Laura Lambert wrote:  Friday, June 13, 2014, 14:53 Container is filled with 400 discs of Ta foils. No Ta foil heat shield. No caps inserted. Chamber pumped down this morning. HS cooling water valves opened, no leaks detected. IG @ 5.8e-6 Torr. TGHT max = 580A TBHT max = 230A Ramping rate 0.2A/min.  Monday, June 16, 2014, 11:46 TGHT and TBHT reached their respective 580A and 230A over the weekend. IGP1 currently at 3.2e-7 Torr. Internal temp [measured using mikron, right side of EVAP2, pointed at discs inside] = 1375C    Monday, June 16, 2014, 17:21 Further stepping up TGHT to 650A. Temperature measured on target discs = 1542C. Vac @ 3.28e-7 Torr. Initiate cooling down process; 2A/min for TGHT; 1A/min for TBHT

 Tuesday, June 17, 2014, 10:08

TGHT and TBHT reached 0A last night.

Turned off EVAP2

Venting chamber

Process Complete

 Tuesday, June 17, 2014, 13:11

Target container is coated with TaC.

Container is wrapped with 3x Ta-heat shields.

Currently being pumped down.

For sintering process:

TGHT and TBHT will be ramped up to 820A and 300A respectively at 0.1A/min

 Tuesday, June 17, 2014, 14:22

HS water cooling valves opened, no leaks detected.

IGP1 @1.8e-6 Torr

TGHT max = 820A/ 17V

TBHT max = 300A/ 5V

Stepped up manually to 40A, waited ~20min, vacuum stable.

Initiating auto-ramp @ 1.0A/min

 Wednesday, June 18, 2014, 11:24

TGHT and TBHT reached their respective 820A and 300A last night.

Internal temp measured from side of EVAP2 with mikron = 1830C

IGP1 = 7.6e-7 Torr

Initiating auto-cool down process at 2.0A/min and 1.0A/min for TGHT and TBHT respectively

vented and opened this morning.

smooth run