John Wong wrote:

Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 15:07 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 down  Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 17:40 Vacuum came down to mid 10-6 Torr. Stepped up TGHT and TBHT to 30A - IG1 @ 1.4e-5 Torr. Initiated auto-ramping.  Thursday, July 24, 2014, 17:19 TGHT and TBHT have reached to 100A, and vacuum is coming down to 1.4e-6 Torr. Increase ramping rate, TGHT to 1A/min, TBHT 0.5A/min.  Friday, July 25, 2014, 11:26 Target container temperature reaches ~1550C at 580A on TGHT and 230A TBHT, and it has been heated for ~10 hrs. Auto-cooling initiated at 2A/min.

 Monday, July 28, 2014, 10:50

vented in air and opened this morning. successful run

Peter Kunz wrote:

Target was conditioned for 4 hours at 580A. Initiating ramp-down sequence @ 2A/min

 Tuesday, August 05, 2014, 12:00

target vented in air and taken out this morning

John Wong wrote:

Wednesday, August 06, 2014, 15:59 Target consists of 400 Ta discs.  Total packed length 4.5cm Total mass 47.490g. Re foil inserted. Wednesday, August 06, 2014, 16:07 Chamber is currently being pumped down. No Ta heat-shield wrapped (Want to check the temperature without it)  One end-cap inserted on left (wrt ionizer into the page). TGHT and TBHT will be ramped up to 820A/230A at 2A/min.  Wednesday, August 06, 2014, 18:07 Vacuum at 2.3e-6 Torr.  HS water valve opened.  No leaks. Initiated auto-ramping.  Thursday, August 07, 2014, 11:39 Target has been heated for 11hrs at TGHT/TBHT = 820A/230A. Temperature measured with pyrometer: Target leg = 1600C + (250 correction for e=0.25) = 1850C Inside target material = dark, temp can't be measured. Cooling down at 2A/min for TGHT and 1A/min TBHT.

 Friday, August 08, 2014, 15:14

Vented in air and opened up up this morning.

Endcaps inserted and expanded.

Rh foil and salts added.

Laura Lambert wrote:

Tuesday, September 23, 2014, 15:00 A new target boat [new design with no end caps] was sprayed with TaC coating and let dry. The target boat is wrapped with 3-layers of Ta-heat shield. The boat was installed in EVAP2, chamber is currently being pumped down.

 Tuesday, September 23, 2014, 18:31

Chamber was pumped down to 2.5e-6 Torr. 

HS water valve open; no leaks detected.

Stepping up TGHT to 40A - pressure is increasing...

 Tuesday, September 23, 2014, 19:05

Auto-ramping TGHT to 580A at 0.5A/min.  Temperature will be measured and TGHt will be adjusted accordingly.

 Wednesday, September 24, 2014, 11:57

Pressure is stable at 2.2-6 Torr as TGHT is ramping up.  Increase ramping rate to 2.0A/min.  Currently TGHT at 540A.

 Wednesday, September 24, 2014, 15:36

TGHT at 580A for 2 hrs.  Inner tube temp (left side wall, viewing from the window port) ~1800C (measured with Mikron = 1550C +250C em. correction); Vac @ 1.67e-6 Torr.

Temperature measurement distance from the window to Mikron = 45cm.

Increase TGHT to reach 2000C (Mikron @ 1750C)

 Wednesday, September 24, 2014, 18:14

TGHT has gone up to 725A/13.2V.  Temp measured at 1740C (+250C = ~2000C).  Pressure gone up to 5.5e-6 Torr and it's coming down slowly.

Will continue heating at this temperature for a few hours; then cool down afterward.

 Wednesday, September 24, 2014, 18:56

Temperature is pretty stable at 1740C on Mikron, and pressure is still coming down, currently at 2.9e-6 Torr.

Slow ramping down TGHT at 1.0A/min.  The chamber should be ready for venting tomorrow. 

Target boat will be inspected.

 Thursday, September 25, 2014, 17:25.

The boat was inspected and it turned out great!  The coating was fully sintered and there is no sign of damage on the boat. 

See the link for photos.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/m7ycqhkj4avfull/AABHVTweTsP4ajeWZ6uoY010a?dl=0

Thursday, September 25, 2014, 17:32

Target boat is filled with Ta-coated endcaps.  The caps are stacked together.  In between each cap, a piece of graphite foil is used for separation so the Ta caps would not fused. 

See link for photos:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rydtdho6ggh4l3l/AAAYmvqT0mVQ_pnz4iecS4ksa?dl=0

The boat is wrapped with 3-layers of heatshields.  The chamber is currently being pumped down.

TGHT will be ramped up to 580A and the temperature will be measured.

Monday, September 29, 2014, 11:12

TGHt was stepped up to 40A on last Friday and chamber continues to pump down over the weekend.

Vac @ 2.56e-6 Torr, mp @ 19mTorr.

Ramping up TGHT 580A at 1.0A/min.

 Monday, September 29, 2014, 11:50

TGHT tripped off at 53A.  Reduce ramping rate to 0.5A/min for now.

 Monday, September 29, 2014, 16:17

Vacuum is coming down to 9.5e-7 Torr.  Increased ramping rate to 1.0A/min.

 Tuesday, September 30, 2014, 11:59

TGHT reached to 580A/10.18V.  Target has been heated at that current for almost 12 hrs. Vac @ 4.9e-7 Torr.

Local temp measured with Mikron = (1500C + 250 C correction) = 1750C

Cooling down at 2A/min.

 Thursday, October 02, 2014, 11:13

The coating is fully sintered; no sign of any damage on the endcaps.  

Process is successful.  

John Wong wrote:

Laura Lambert wrote:  Thursday, October 02, 2014, 11:51 Target container sprayed with TaC, currently drying in fume hood  Monday, October 06, 2014, 12:11 Target container & back block is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield.  The chamber has been pumped down over the weekend.  Pressure currently at 2.23e-7 Torr.  HS water valves open; no leaks detected. TGHT will be ramped up to 580A at 0.2A/min TBHT will be ramped up to 230A at 0.2A/min.    Monday, October 06, 2014, 12:16 Stepped up both TGHT/TBHT to 35A.  Tuesday, October 07, 2014, 12:54 TBHT reached to 230A/3.7V and TGHT is still ramping up, currently at 303A/4.5V. Temp measured with Omega-IR2 = 1165C with e'=0.85 Pressure @ 5.2e-7 Torr.  Increase ramping rate to 2A/min.  Tuesday, October 07, 2014, 16:21 TGHT is now at 580A and TGHT at 230A. Temperature is measured with OMEGA-IR2, MIKRON, and analog pyrometer - All the measurements are agreed at 1700C (without the tantalum emissivity correction of 250C) The OMEGA-IR2 slope has changed to 0.97 for the correction - The real temperature reading from the display is showing 1935C. Now... attempting to low TBHT to see any temperature change.  Tuesday, October 07, 2014, 17:01 TGHT @ 580A. TBHT = 180C, Temp = 1925C TBHT = 130C, Temp = 1920C Not much of change in the temperature on the target tube... Tuesday, October 07, 2014, 17:07 Attempting to increase the temperature to 2000C TGHT = 600A, Temp = 1955C TGHT = 620A, Temp = 2000C Target will continue heating at this temperature overnight... Will continue to monitor.  Tuesday, October 07, 2014, 20:59 After almost 4 hours of heating at 620A on TGHT, the temperature has dropped to 1980C.   Pressure is coming down to 1.17e-6 Torr.   Increased TGHT to 630A to maintain temp @ 2000C

 Wednesday, October 08, 2014, 11:46

Temperature readout from omega-IR2C = 2054C

TGHT = 11.14V, 628.0A

TBHT = 2.01V, 129.8A

IGP1 = 8.2e-7Torr

Initiating auto-cool for TGHT @ 2A/min, TBHT @ 1A/min

 Thursday, October 09, 2014, 16:00

vented in air and opened up this morning

target container looks good!

Laura Lambert wrote:

John Wong wrote: Laura Lambert wrote:  Thursday, October 02, 2014, 11:51 Target container sprayed with TaC, currently drying in fume hood  Monday, October 06, 2014, 12:11 Target container & back block is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield.  The chamber has been pumped down over the weekend.  Pressure currently at 2.23e-7 Torr.  HS water valves open; no leaks detected. TGHT will be ramped up to 580A at 0.2A/min TBHT will be ramped up to 230A at 0.2A/min.    Monday, October 06, 2014, 12:16 Stepped up both TGHT/TBHT to 35A.  Tuesday, October 07, 2014, 12:54 TBHT reached to 230A/3.7V and TGHT is still ramping up, currently at 303A/4.5V. Temp measured with Omega-IR2 = 1165C with e'=0.85 Pressure @ 5.2e-7 Torr.  Increase ramping rate to 2A/min.  Tuesday, October 07, 2014, 16:21 TGHT is now at 580A and TGHT at 230A. Temperature is measured with OMEGA-IR2, MIKRON, and analog pyrometer - All the measurements are agreed at 1700C (without the tantalum emissivity correction of 250C) The OMEGA-IR2 slope has changed to 0.97 for the correction - The real temperature reading from the display is showing 1935C. Now... attempting to low TBHT to see any temperature change.  Tuesday, October 07, 2014, 17:01 TGHT @ 580A. TBHT = 180C, Temp = 1925C TBHT = 130C, Temp = 1920C Not much of change in the temperature on the target tube... Tuesday, October 07, 2014, 17:07 Attempting to increase the temperature to 2000C TGHT = 600A, Temp = 1955C TGHT = 620A, Temp = 2000C Target will continue heating at this temperature overnight... Will continue to monitor.  Tuesday, October 07, 2014, 20:59 After almost 4 hours of heating at 620A on TGHT, the temperature has dropped to 1980C.   Pressure is coming down to 1.17e-6 Torr.   Increased TGHT to 630A to maintain temp @ 2000C    Wednesday, October 08, 2014, 11:46 Temperature readout from omega-IR2C = 2054C TGHT = 11.14V, 628.0A TBHT = 2.01V, 129.8A IGP1 = 8.2e-7Torr Initiating auto-cool for TGHT @ 2A/min, TBHT @ 1A/min  Thursday, October 09, 2014, 16:00 vented in air and opened up this morning target container looks good!

 Thursday, October 09, 2014, 16:36

Photos for the OMEGA-IR2C temp measurement can be found on this link (see also the subfolder for the heating process):

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/n5sxcepg7e847xw/AACMubuKW1idd49D1Nz_0diNa?dl=0

Thursday, October 09, 2014, 17:36

Target boat consists of 5 Nb discs.  Each disc is wrapped with Nb foil, and to be heated to 1400C for 4 hours.

Chamber has been pumped down to 6.5e-7 Torr.  HS valves open - no leaks detected.

TGHT has ramped to 330A to maintain the 1400C temperature. 

At 21:30, the target will be cooled down.

Temperature can be monitored from this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kor6gnutnlimqxw/AAAee2yb-Hj3JEbBysrAW2oYa?dl=0

 Thursday, October 09, 2014, 22:48

Samples have been heated at 1420C for over 4 hours.  

Pressure at 6.6 e-7 Torr. 

Cooling process initiated, ramping down at 2A/min. 

 Friday, October 10, 2014, 13:50

Samples were successfully conditions; no signs of any damage.

Laura Lambert wrote:

Thursday, October 23, 2014, 15:34 *See elog #142 for target description* one endcap still in place, one removed for OMEGA-IR2C beam to reach material [see pic] no heat shields currently being pumped down  Friday, October 24, 2014, 11:34 EVAP2 pumped down overnight. IGP1 = 7e-7 Torr HS water valves opened, no leaks detected. TGHT will be ramped up to 1400C TBHT will be ramped up to 230A  Friday, October 24, 2014, 14:32 TBHT reached 230A, TGHT reached 1400C Stepped TGHT up manually to 1600C; TGHT = 693A, 10.6V [see pic]  Friday, October 24, 2014, 15:58 TGHT = 760A, 12.07V [local read back] = setpoint. epics readback TGHT = 754.8A, 11.76V OMEGA = 1700C Friday, October 24, 2014, 16:26 OMEGA = 1800C epics readback TGHT = 828.7A, 13.15V Friday, October 24, 2014, 16:34 OMEGA = 1900C epics readback TGHT = 899A, 14.53V Friday, October 24, 2014, 16:46 OMEGA = 2000C epics readback TGHT = 967A, 15.8V MIKRON target spot on SiC = 1650C, e = 0.97

 Tuesday, November 04, 2014, 15:59

Target was heated up to 2000C and last for about 1.5 days before the right leg (ionizer points into the page) broke off. 

Interesting discovery...  The "yellowish" crystals are forming on the discs. 

Suspecting a phase transformation of 6H (hexagonal/- alpha SiC (hexagonal) polytype to 3C(cubic) - beta SiC

More study needs to be done... 

See elog # 168.

The leg of this target was repaired in the Machine shop. 

THIS TARGET WILL NOT BE USED ONLINE -  IT WILL BE USED FOR OFFLINE R&D PURPOSES.

Monday, November 10, 2014, 13:51

target container was sprayed with TaC on friday and sintered over the weekend.
vented and removed from evap2 this morning, looks good.

this container will be used as a round2 for UCx #11 since the last container broke as it was being assembled.

hopefully all the materials can be recovered and re-used/re-loaded into the new container...

 Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 15:10

currently pumping down

 Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 15:28

container is wrapped with 3 x Ta-heat shield

leak check done

Starting voltage = -0.017mV

TGHT = 0A, 0V

TBHT = 0A, 0V

IGP1 = 1.7e-6 Torr

 Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 16:33

Tapped TGHT up manually to 100A

DV [direct voltage] = 0.33V

TGHT = 109A

TBHT = 0A

IGP1 = 1.3e-6 Torr

Initiating auto-ramp of TGHT to 400A at 2A/min

 Thursday, November 20, 2014, 09:49

DV = 3.47V

OMEGA = 1645C

TGHT = 401A, 6.49V

TBHT = 0

IGP1 = 4.5e-7Torr

TGHT finished auto-ramping ~19:00 last night

initiating manual tap up to 2000 celsius or 580A [whichever is higher] and recording activity

 Friday, November 21, 2014, 12:50

TGHT was ramped up to 580A yesterday and left overnight.

In the picture attached one can see the TGHT current has remained constant at 578A [red = TGHT current, green = TGHT voltage]

The vacuum has slowly gone down as expected.

However, the DV, TGHT voltage and temperature have deviated. They have dipped up and down several times throughout the night. The first deviation was observed ~3.5hours after it reached its target of 580A.

DV reached 6.02V [when TGHT initially hit 580A] and increased to 6.27V after 3.5hrs and is currently sitting at 5.94V

OMEGA reached 2111C [when TGHT initially hit 580A] and increased to 2154C after 3.5 hrs and is currently sitting at 2094C

TGHT voltage reached 10.4V [when TGHT initially hit 580A] and increased to 10.6V after 3.5hrs and is currently sitting at 10.3V

 Friday, November 21, 2014, 17:59

EVAP2 sat at max setting: TGHT = 580A and TBHT = 230A for ~4hours

Initiating auto-cool TGHT 2A/min, TBHT 1A/min

 Monday, November 24, 2014, 14:28

Vented and opened this morning.

No notable changes on target container.

[See attachments for more detailed information of results]

John Wong wrote:

Laura Lambert wrote: John Wong wrote: Monday, February 02, 2015, 16:28 Container is coated with TaC.  No Ta foil wrapped around.  Chamber is being pumped down. TGHT/TBHT will be ramped up to 580A/230A at 0.2A/min.      Tuesday, February 03, 2015, 10:28 HS water valves opened; no leaks detected. IGP1 = 5.9e-7 Torr  Wednesday, February 04, 2015, 11:10 attempted to initiate manual ramp up of TGHT and TBHT yesterday, but not responding to EPICS currently sitting under vacuum, waiting on fix...  Wednesday, February 04, 2015, 14:16 controls fixed. initiated auto-ramp.  Thursday, February 05, 2015, 08:56 IGP1 = 4.1e-7 Torr TGHT = 290A TBHT = 225A Increasing auto-ramp to 1.0A/min  Thursday, February 05, 2015, 13:49 IGP1 = 1.4e-6 Torr TGHT = 569A TBHT = 232A Increasing auto-ramp to 2.0A/min    Thursday, February 05, 2015, 18:02 Auto-cooling TGHT to 400A at 1A/min.  Need to take voltage reading tomorrow.

 Tuesday, February 10, 2015, 09:35

Vented and opened this morning.

Container fully sintered.

 Tuesday, February 10, 2015, 14:00

Container loaded into EVAP2 at noon.

no heat shields.

Chamber currently being pumped down.

TGHT/ TBHT will be ramped up to 580A/ 230A, tapped up manually.

 Tuesday, February 10, 2015, 14:39

HS water valves opened, no leaks detected.

Tapping up manually / recording data in excel

 Wednesday, February 11, 2015, 11:24

Reached max set points yesterday early evening.

Tapped down manually this a.m.

Will vent and open this afternoon.

 Wednesday, February 11, 2015, 15:54

Took out this afternoon.

container looks good.

graphite insert removed/ inspected - not much change, slightly lighter in colour.

[see attachments for graphs/ table]

 Wednesday, February 11, 2015, 16:10

Container loaded into EVAP2.

3xTa heat shields.

Chamber currently being pumped down.

TGHT/ TBHT will be ramped up to 580A/ 230A or 1800C tapped up manually.

 Thursday, February 12, 2015, 09:39

HS water valves opened, no leaks detected.
Tapping up manually.

 Thursday, February 12, 2015, 12:07

OMEGA reached 1805C; TGHT = 415A, TBHT = 205A

Will continue to tap up manually to 2000C

 Thursday, February 12, 2015, 15:19

Reached TGHT = 500A, TBHT = 230A, OMEGA = 2035C.

Sat for ~2hrs.

Tapping up a further 25A on the TGHT.

 Thursday, February 12, 2015, 16:05

Tapped up manually to:

OMEGA = 2250C

DV = 5.65V

TGHT = 580A

TBHT = 230A

Friday, February 13, 2015, 10:05

Reached max setpoint last night.

Voltage starting to increase at contant TGHT @ 580A.  Lower TGHT to 525A, temp at 2150C (time 6:30pm) 

Initiating manual cool down.

Friday, February 13, 2015, 15:31

vented and opened up this afternoon.

everything looked good, container not broken! graphite insert looked good! the container was slightly bent, but nothing of significance.

however, the graphite insert bonded to the container so it was not taken out in one piece...

 Thursday, February 19, 2015, 15:19

Target container coated with TaC, loaded in EVAP2.

No Ta heat shields.

Will pump down over the weekend.

 Monday, February 23, 2015, 10:22

IGP1  = 1.75e-7 Torr

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

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

evap2 power supply not responding to epics controls...waiting on fix

 Wednesday, February 25, 2015, 16:05

controls now fixed.

danceioc1 involving evap ioc will be updated tomorrow by controls.

once ioc update complete will ramp up.

 Friday, February 27, 2015, 09:34

ioc update complete yesterday afternoon.

IGP1 = 1.1e-7

initiating ramp up...

Parameter setup: 5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0e-5 bad vac.

 Monday, March 02, 2015, 09:01

IGP1 = 2.5e-7 Torr

TGHT = 578A

TBHT = 232A

OMEGA = 1750C

Increasing to 1800C

 Monday, March 02, 2015, 10:42

Reached 1800C at 10:30

TGHT = 603A

TBHT = 232A

IGP1 = 2.8e-7 Torr

 Monday, March 02, 2015, 14:26

Sat at max set point for 4hrs.

IGP1 = 2.7e-7 Torr.

Initiating auto-cool, TGHT @ 2A/min, TBHT @ 1A/min.

 Tuesday, March 03, 2015, 09:17

vented and opened this a.m.

target container looks good, TaC coating fully sintered.

Laura Lambert wrote:

Monday, March 09, 2015, 16:47 Target consists of 400 discs. Total packed length 3.4cm Total mass 45.8181g Re foil inserted. Chamber is currently being pumped down. No Ta-heat shield wrapped. One end-cap inserted on left (wrt ionizer into the page) TGHT and TBHT will be ramped up to 820A/230A respectively at 2.0A/min.  Tuesday, March 10, 2015, 10:28 HS water valves opened, no leaks detected. IGP1 = 4.5e-7 Torr. Power supply not responding to epics...AGAIN. grrrr  Tuesday, March 10, 2015, 13:17   IOC was rebooted - back up and running again! yay!  IGP1 = 4.0e-7 Torr. Tapped up manually to 35A, waited ~30min, vaccuum stable. Initiating auto-ramp. Vacuum limit stop at 5.0e-5 Torr, backing off at 6.0e-5 Torr.  Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 09:11 Target has been at max setpoints for ~14hrs. OMEGA = 1472C TGHT = 820A, 12.85V TBHT = 230A, 3.696V IGP1 = 5.5ee-7 Torr Manually tapping up to obtain hotter internal temperature...  Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 11:33 Current conditions: OMEGA = 1565C TGHT = 900A, 14.3V TBHT = 230A, 3.7V IGP1 = 6.3e-7 Torr Digital pyrometer readings: Hottest point on left leg, WRT ionizer tube into page = 2400C Internal temp of container = 1580C Sat at this temperature ~45min. Initiating auto-cool at TGHT 2.0A/min, TBHT 1.0A/min [See attached photo for collected data]  Thursday, March 12, 2015, 13:12 vented and opened up this morning. only reached a max internal temp of 1580C. therefore added 3xTa heat shield and will re-condition at a higher temp. currently pumping back down.  Thursday, March 12, 2015, 14:34 IGP1 = 7.0e-7 Torr stepped up to 35A, waited ~30min, vacuum stable. IGP1 = 6.1e-7 Torr Initating ramp-up...  Friday, March 13, 2015, 07:47 IGP1 = 2.9e-7 Torr reached max set points for TGHT = 600A, TBHT = 230A Initiating manual tap-up.  Friday, March 13, 2015, 10:31 Reached 720A, 1800C at 0850 Will continue to heat for ~3hrs [see attachment for collected data]  Friday, March 13, 2015, 12:00 Sat at max temperature, 1800C, for 3 hours. Initiating auto-cool at 2.0A/min for TGHT and 1.0A/min for TBHT.

 Monday, March 16, 2015, 17:30

Target was removed from Evap#2.  It was successfully conditioned. 

The other end cap was inserted and expended. 

Standard salts were added.   And Re foil is inserted. 

Target is ready for assembly.

 Thursday, April 09, 2015, 09:33

Target container is coated with TaC and wrapped with 3-Ta heat shields, not incl center block.

TGHT and TBHT will be ramped up to 820A and 230A, respectively.

Chamber pumped down overnight.

IGP1 = 5.2e-7 Torr.

HS cooling water valves opened; no leaks detected.

TGHT max voltage = 18V, TBHT max voltage = 5V

Stepping TGHT and TBHT up to 35A...

 Thursday, April 09, 2015, 10:07

Waited ~20min, vacuum stable.

IGP1 = 5.3e-7 Torr.

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

Auto-ramp initiated at 0.2A/min.

 Monday, April 13, 2015, 09:06

Reached max setpoints sunday morning [see attached photo for striptool].

Internal temperature measured with OMEGA  = 1965C

IGP1 = 4.4e-7 Torr,

Initiating auto cool for TGHT and TBHT at 2.0A/min and 1.0A/min respectively.

 Tuesday, April 14, 2015, 14:12

Vented in air and opened up this morning.

Fully sintered.

Laura Lambert wrote:

Friday, April 17, 2015, 16:01 Total number of foils: 520 discs Total mass of materials [incl graphite foils]: 60.2441g Total length packed: 17.0cm Container is wrapped with 3x Ta-heat shields. No endcaps inserted to allow outgasing. Currently being pumped down.  Monday, April 20, 2015, 11:08 Target container is coated with TaC and wrapped with 3-Ta heat shields, not incl center block. TGHT and TBHT will be ramped up to 820A and 230A, respectively. Chamber pumped down over the weekend. IGP1 = 2.1e-7 Torr. HS cooling water valves opened; no leaks detected. TGHT max voltage = 18V, TBHT max voltage = 5V .... attempted to start stepping up manually. power supply not responding to epics controls for TBHT only...looking into problems now...  Monday, April 20, 2015, 16:06 Epics is working. Power supply connections unplugged/plugged back in. Everything working again. Tapped up manually to 40A. Waited ~1hr30 for vacuum to stabilize. IGP1 = 1.8e-6 Torr. Good vac = 3e-5 Torr. Bad vac = 4e-5 Torr. TGHT and TBHT will be ramped up to 820A and 230A, respectively. Initiating auto-ramp at 0.2A/min and 0.1A/min for the TGHT and TBHT respectively.  Wednesday, April 22, 2015, 15:23 TGHT = 200A, 2.26V; TBHT = 117A, 1.58V IGP1 = 9.8e-6 Torr. Increasing auto-ramp to 0.4A/min and 0.2A/min for the TGHT and TBHT respectively.

 Thursday, April 23, 2015, 10:15

Vac at 2.e-6 Torr.  Increased TGHT ramping rate to 1.0A/min.  Current temperature at 1443C, TGHT at 641A, TBHT at 230A.

 Thursday, April 23, 2015, 15:02

Evap#2 window for the temp reader is now coated, so temp reading is not available.  (see attachment). 

TGHT has been at 820A/13.45V for almost 2 hours, will continue to heat at this current for a few more hours.  Will initiate the cooling process from home…  

 Thursday, April 23, 2015, 22:31

Target has been heated at 820A for about 9.5hrs.  Current vacuum at 4.7e-7 Torr.

Initiating cooling process at -2A/min for TGHT and -1A/min for TBHT.

Friday, April 24, 2015, 10:13  

Target has been cooled at 0A for about 5 hours.  Chamber is currently being vented and the target will be taken out for inspection.

Friday, April 24, 2015, 12:37  

The target was inspected.  

Some yellow crystals were form around the ends but they were easily removed this time.  

With both ends open during the sintering process and shorten the target length with 1cm space of both side, the target is looking a lot better.  

 No visible damage on the target surface.  

Inside, the channel has a clear pathway, and the discs are nicely aligned.  

End caps and Rh foils are inserted - It's ready for assembly.

See link for pics after the sintering process.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/w5k4l3fezfat2cm/AAAyX67zyUPUVvN_WzEHFXM2a?dl=0

 Wednesday, May 06, 2015, 13:54

Two different samples of ZrC are wrapped in graphite sheet and loaded into the target boat.

Sample #1 = ZrC

Sample #2 = ZrC+C

Both samples are hand punched with a 18mm die.

The target boat is wrapped with 3x Ta heat shield.

Pumped down this morning.

HS water valves opened, no leaks detected.

IGP1 = 1.5e-6 Torr.

Tapping up manually to 35A...

 Waited ~50min for vacuum to stabilize.

IGP1 = 5.3e-6 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp at 0.1A/min for the TGHT with a max setpoint of 275A/ 10V

Good vacuum = 3.00e-5 Torr. Bad vacuum = 4.00e-5 Torr.

Wednesday, May 06, 2015, 15:37  

Increasing ramping rate to 0.2A/min

 Thursday, May 07, 2015, 11:15

Stopping auto ramp.

TGHT = 273A.

Tapping up manually and recording data...

IGP1 = 6.6e-7 Torr.

 Thursday, May 07, 2015, 14:21

Increased max voltage to 14V

 Friday, May 08, 2015, 09:33

EVAP2 reached 2000C yesterday evening and remained at max setpoint overnight.

IGP1 = 3.8e-7 Torr

Initiated auto-cool this morning at 2.0A/min.

 Friday, May 08, 2015, 11:32

IGP1 = 2.1e-7 Torr

TGHT = 221A, 3.21V

OMEGA = 1100C

Increasing auto-cool to 5.0A/min.

 Friday, May 08, 2015, 15:53

Vented in air and opened up this afternoon.

See attachment for data results.

John Wong wrote:

Laura Lambert wrote:  Friday, May 01, 2015, 10:27 Four different samples of ZrC are loaded into a target boat. Sample A: ZrC + NO graphite / hand cut Sample B: ZrC + NO graphite / laser cut Sample C: ZrC + graphite / hand cut Sample D: ZrC + graphite / laser cut A picture showing the different samples is attached [one face-up/ one face-down sample of each side-by-side] Each sample consists of ~20-25 discs, stacked together and wrapped in graphite sheet [see attachment for photo] The target boat is wrapped with 3 x Ta heat shield. EVAP1 pumped down overnight. HS water valves were opened this morning, no leaks detected. IGP1 = 5.5e-7 Torr. Tapping up TGHT manually to 30A...  Friday, May 01, 2015, 10:54 Tapped up manually to 30A. Over the course of 20min the vacuum climbed to IGP1 = 1.0 e-5 Torr. Backed off TGHT to 20A to allow vacuum to stabilize. Waited ~10min. Vacuum dropped to IGP1 = 6.5e-6 Torr. Tapped back-up manually to 30A. Waited ~45min. Vacuum stable, IGP1 = 1.2e-5 Torr. Initiating auto-ramp at 0.1A/min for the TGHT with a max setpoint of 300A / 5.00V. Good Vacuum = 3.00e-5 Torr. Bad vacuum = 4.00e-5 Torr.  Monday, May 04, 2015, 11:17 IGP1 = 2e-7 Torr. TGHT = 274A, 4.75V Ramp-up limited to 275A due to max voltage being set at 5.0V Increased max voltage to 10V Tapping up manually to 1800C and recording data.    Monday, May 04, 2015, 17:24 Samples have been heated at 1800C for >2 hours.  Vaccum at 4.3e-7 Torr, TGHT 475A/9.1V. (Direct Vol = 5.3V). Initiated cooling down process.  Chamber will be vented tomorrow.  Tuesday, May 05, 2015, 10:22 TGHT reached to 0A. Chamber has already vented.  Samples will be taken out for examination.

 Friday, May 08, 2015, 15:55

see attachment for data results.