Thursday, March 09, 2023, 06:53

2 TaC coated springs and  12 Tac coated caps loaded into a target boat (in packs of 4 wrapped in graphite foil).

Target boat wrapped in 4 Ta heatshields

Target boat type was with endcaps at both ends.

Left in Evap2 over previous night to depressurize.

Target temperature= 1850-1900C for 4 hours

Good vacuum = 5e-04 Torr

Bad vacuum = 5e-02 Torr

Start autoramp at 2A/min to 50A on  TGHT

 Thursday, March 09, 2023, 07:22

at 44A switched ramping rate to 1A/min to 120 A

Thursday, March 09, 2023, 09:53

ramping at 4A/min (2A/30s) to 400A

IGP1= 9.9e-07 Torr

Thursday, March 09, 2023, 11:26

1130 am  reaching 425A on TGHT 

1850 C OMEGA

Thursday, March 09, 2023, 15:37

TGHT 425 A, 7.1V

OMEGA = 1850 C

Starting rampdown @ -2A/min

endcaps and spring looked really good.

Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 09:53

The coated container was wrapped in 3 Ta foil heatshields.

Target temperature on OMEGA= 1850-1900 C

OMEGA slope:= 0.990

Target time at max temperature = 4 hours

Final Current TBHT= N/A

Final TGHT current= ~400A (adjustable)

Heating autoramp starged at 4A/min on  TGHT  40A

Then at 2A/min  to 90 A.

Good vacuum = 5.0 e-04 Torr

Bad vacuum = 5.0E-02 Torr

 IGP1 initial = 4.7e-07 Torr

Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 10:46

heating at 2A/min to 90A

Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 11:18

Autoramping at 2A/min to 230A

Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 11:53

Autoramping at 4A/min to 230 A

Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 13:57

Autoramping to 380A

Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 14:07

manually adjusted TGHT to 384A. 6.6 V

OMEGA reads 1859 C.   Leaving for 4 hours. 

Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 18:36

Started rampdown at -2A/min

Friday, April 28, 2023, 11:29

loaded 14 TaC coated end caps and 2 TaC coated springs.

OMEGA Slope 0.99

Will heat to 1850-1900 C and hold for 4 hours

Good Vac = 5.0e-4 Torr

Bad Vac= 5.0 e-02 Torr

 2 end caps had slight damage and were disposed of.  12 good caps and 2 good springs.

Tuesday, May 02, 2023, 14:03

Two np-TiO2 spun fibrous pellets and 1 batch of fibre mats were wrapped with graphite foils and loaded into a target boat.

Sample will be heated to 1875C, similar to the previous process, see e-log ID#605 (TGHT: 440A/7.6V).

TGHT will be autoramped to 350 A and monitor the conditions before ramping up further.

Good vacuum: 3e-5 Torr

Bad vacuum: 5e-5 Torr

Omega slope: 1.08

In the previous process (ID#605), Ta-foil was inserted at both ends of the tubes to hold the sample together. However, it was observed that the out-gassing of the material reacted with the Ta-foil, causing issues. Therefore, it's decided not to cover the ends with Ta-foil, and the sensor is now looking at the graphite foil. It had previously determined the slope for SiC material set for its emissivity, but need to note any errors that may have arisen due to the change in the sample setup.

See attachment#1 for sample setup - note that Omega sensor is slightly looking at the edge of the Ta-boat tube. 

Initiate autoramp: 1 A/min

Chamber has been pumped down below 5.6e-6 Torr.

 Tuesday, May 02, 2023, 15:31

Vacuum spike TGHT at 75A, auto-ramping down kicked in.

 Wednesday, May 03, 2023, 12:18Thursday, May 04, 2023, 15:16

TGHT has been holding at 350A/5.7V (1995W) for almost 2hrs, temp is reading at 1368C - 232C lower than the previous process (ID#605) with TGHT = 348/5.8V (2018W).

Pressure started to come down around 344A/5.5V, temp 1331C - see attachment #2.

Current status overall view - see attachment #3

Continue to ramp up t0 440A at 1A/min and monitor.

 Wednesday, May 03, 2023, 14:47

TGHT reached 440A/7.5V, temp reading at 1672C.  Pressure is coming down, currently at 1.8e-6 Torr.  Will keep at this setting overnight and will check the Omega/emmissivity to confirm the temperature.

 Thursday, May 04, 2023, 10:54

Eractic vacuum spikes started just over 3 hrs ago.  Temp at 1681 C; TGHT has been stable at 440A/7.6V. Pressure ranging between 5.0e-7 to 1.5 e-6 and gradually decreasing, see attachment #4. 

Will perform the omega/emmissivity measurement.

 Thursday, May 04, 2023, 15:16

Temperature was checked with the digital and analogue pyrometers. 

With the analogue pyrometer on the Ta-container (left end, top surface), measured temp = 1360 C, with e=0.22, correction + 200 C => 1560 C

With the Omega pyrometer (right end), 1-color mode with e= 0.22, temp = 1585 C. 

Setting Omega pyrometer to 2-color mode with e= 0.99 temp = 1516 C --  this is in agreement with the measurements for Ta.  Note that the pyrometer is looking at some part of the Ta container which is not covered by the sample wrapped with the graphite foil (see attachment #5). 

From e-log#596, temp was reported at 1520 C (slope at 0.99) with a Ta-foil at the end of the tube, but from e-log#605, temp was reported at 1864 C (slope at 0.99) - possibly an error occurred during that time.

In conclusion, the temp should be at 1530 C +/- 10C with TGHT = 440A/7.7V (3388W).

 Thursday, May 04, 2023, 15:43

Vacuum spikes continue every 30 min lasting for 10 min. 

Tapped down TGHT to 430A/7.5V, temp reading at 1500 C.  Will monitor if any improvement with the vacuum.

 Friday, May 05, 2023, 09:34

Vacuum spikes continue to happen; see attachment #6 for the striptool overview.

Lower TGHT to 420A/7.3V, temp = 1480 C.

 Friday, May 05, 2023, 10:10

Vacuum spikes continue every 20-30 min lasting for 10 min. 

Lower TGHT to 410A/7.1V, temp = 1450 C

 Friday, May 05, 2023, 11:25

Vacuum spikes continue,

Lower TGHT to 400A/6.93V, temp = 1433 C

 Friday, May 05, 2023, 12:20

Vacuum spikes - lower TGHT to 390A/6.7V, temp at 1407C

Friday, May 05, 2023, 13:19

Vacuum spikes - lower TGHT to 380A/6.5V, temp at 1388C

Friday, May 05, 2023, 13:47

Vacuum spikes - lower TGHT to 370A/6.3V, temp at1373 C

Friday, May 05, 2023, 14:16

Vacuum spikes - lower TGHT 360A/6.1V, temp at 1348 C

Friday, May 05, 2023, 15:11

Vacuum spikes - lower TGHT 350A/5.9V, temp at 1308 C

Friday, May 05, 2023, 16:34

Vacuum spikes - lower TGHT 340A/5.7V, temp at 1371 C

Friday, May 05, 2023, 16:56

Vacuum spikes continue; container possibly broken.

Slow ramp down TGHT at -0.5A/min to see when the vacuum spikes would stop.

 Monday, May 08, 2023, 09:54

TGHT was ramped down over the weekend.  Chamber was kept under vacuum and vacuum continued to spike; suspecting problem with the gauge?! see attachment &7 for an over view.

Will take out the samples for exam.

Tuesday, June 06, 2023, 09:11

A Ta container tube was wrapped with 4 Ta heatshields.  Note final container is 45220-6

272 graphite discs were loaded.

a TaC coated Ta spring at the front end.

The system was left to establish vacuum over previous night.

Good vacuum set to5e-04Torr

Bad vacuum was set to 5e-2 Torr

Total weight of system including spring= 253.94 g

OMEGA slope = 0.99

The target will be heated to ~2000 C, held there for 10 hours. 

Initial ramp at 1A/min to 200A

Then ramp at 0.5A/min while taking temperature readings periodically unti l250A.

At 250 A will let pressure stabilize and then ramp at 1A/min to 2000C or 480A.  Will use read back current

Will hold at target Temperature or Current for 10 hours before starting ramp-down.

Tuesday, June 06, 2023, 09:14

 Starting ramt at 1A/min

initial IGP1= 8.2e-07

Tuesday, June 06, 2023, 21:25

@480 A on readback, 1823C on OMEGA.  ramping to 510A set point which should be around 490 RD.  (see heating profile for details)

Tuesday, June 06, 2023, 22:02

ramped to 516 on RD 527 on set.  Will leave for 10 hours

OMEGA =1930 C

Wednesday, June 07, 2023, 06:32

OMEGA at 1950 C this morning.  Will continue heating.  Lowered to 1940 C as in experiment 1 this was the top temperature.

Wednesday, June 07, 2023, 07:40

OMEGA= 1940 C

IGP1=1.7-6 Torr

TGHT= 513A, 9.4V

starting ramp down at -2A/min

Thursday, June 08, 2023, 09:28

Using smaller particle size TaC no ball mill procedure.

Loaded 2 TaC coated end caps and 1 TaC coated springs.

OMEGA Slope 0.99

Will heat to 1850-1900 C and hold for 4 hours

Good Vac = 5.0e-4 Torr

Bad Vac= 5.0 e-02 Torr

 Initial IGP1= 4.07E-06 Torr

Thursday, June 08, 2023, 10:36

ramped @ 2A/min to 100A.  Then after pressure stabilized starting ramp at 4A/min (2A/30s) to 400A

Thursday, June 08, 2023, 12:24

reached 1850 C with Set current = 480 and RD current = 470.6A, V = 7.7

Will leave for 4 hours.

Thursday, June 08, 2023, 15:31

ramping down at -2A/min (-1A/30s)

Tuesday, August 15, 2023, 10:48

The coated container was wrapped in 4 Ta foil heatshields.

Target temperature on OMEGA= 1850-1900 C

OMEGA slope:= 0.990

Target time at max temperature = 4 hours

Final Current TBHT= N/A

Final TGHT current= ~400A (adjustable)

Heating autoramp starged at 2A/min(1A/30s) on  TGHT  100A

Then at 4A/min  to 100 A.

Good vacuum = 5.0 e-04 Torr

Bad vacuum = 5.0E-02 Torr

 IGP1 initial =8.9e-06 Torr

 Tuesday, August 15, 2023, 13:00

Tuesday, August 15, 2023, 13:00

Pressure stabilizing @8.8e-06 Torr

starting 2A/30s ramp to 400 A

Tuesday, August 15, 2023, 14:02

TGHT RD CURRENT = 331.4A, 5.8V, SET CURRENT=338 A. 

OMEGA = 1855

IGP1= 1.5e-05 Torr

Leave for 4 hours

Tuesday, August 15, 2023, 15:05

Temperature dropped slightly to 1820C so increased current set point to 345A, and RD was at 338A, 5.9V

OMEGA increased to 1842C

Tuesday, August 15, 2023, 17:59

OMEGA = 1823C

TGHT= RD 338A, 5.9V   SET= 345A

IGP1= 4.0e-06 Torr

Start rampdown at -2A/min

Tuesday, August 22, 2023, 09:29

The coated container was wrapped in 4 Ta foil heatshields.

Target temperature on OMEGA= 1850-1900 C

OMEGA slope:= 0.990

Target time at max temperature = 2 hours

Final Current TBHT= N/A

Final TGHT current= ~400A (adjustable)

Heating autoramp starged at 2A/min(1A/30s) on  TGHT  100A

Then at 4A/min  to =400 A.

Good vacuum = 5.0 e-04 Torr

Bad vacuum = 5.0E-02 Torr

 IGP1 initial =2.2e-06 Torr

 Tuesday, August 22, 2023, 10:25

IGP1= 2.31e-06 Torr

TGHT 98.0 A (RD), 1.35 V

Start ramping at 2A/min to 400A

Tuesday, August 22, 2023, 11:54

Reached 1860 @ TGHT = 353A, 6.16V (RD)  Will leave for 2 hours

Tuesday, August 22, 2023, 14:07

1853C OMEGA

TGHT = 353 A, 6.2 V (RD)

IGP1= 2.88E-06 Torr

Starting ramp-down at -2A/min

Saturday, August 26, 2023, 09:37

Note: the coating looks really good .  The second sintering on the second coating was 2 hours.  Will test the coating during graphite material conditioning.

Tuesday, May 07, 2024, 06:16

TP was swapped on previous day (May 6th)

protective screen installed.

Loaded 9 TaC coated end caps (groups of 4 and 5) and 2 TaC coated springs.

OMEGA Slope 0.99

Will heat to 1850-1900 C and hold for 4 hours

Good Vac = 5.0e-4 Torr

Bad Vac= 5.0 e-02 Torr

 Initial IGP1=6.7E-07 Torr

 Thursday, July 25, 2024, 15:18

Target container consists of two np-Ta fibres disk samples. Both disks are made from heat stabilized np-Ta fibres (150 C for 17 hours) and were pressed at 8 tons / 300 MPa.

Sample 1 was made from np-Ta fibres spun using Dope solution #1. Sample 1 disk has an average thickness of 0.727 mm and a diameter of 17.113 mm. Mass of the green sample 1 disk is 0.1957 g. 

Sample 2 was made from np-Ta fibres spun using Dope solution #6. Sample 2 disk has an average thickness of 0.688 mm and a diameter of 17.123 mm. Mass of the heat stabilized fibres used to make the green sample 2 disk is 0.1860 g. Mass loss from pressing the heat stabilized fibres was virtually zero. Therefore, although the mass of the green sample 2 disk was not measured, it can be extrapolated to be 0.1860 g. 

Target container was wrapped with Ta foil. Each sample disk was wrapped in graphite foil and placed inside the target container horizontally near the center. 

Omega slope was initially set to 0.980. After reviewing previous logbook on np-Ti (e-log ID#633), changed the Omega slope to 0.990. 

Chamber is currently being pumped down. The current reading (as of 15:40) is 4.70e-05 Torr. 

Two heating schedules will be tested. Heating schedule 1 entails heating both sample disks at ~1000 C until the pressure reaches below 1.00e-06 Torr. Once heating schedule 1 is completed, sample 1 will be removed. Heating schedule 2 entails heating sample 2 to ~1800 C until the pressure reaches below 1.00e-06 Torr. TGHT is estimated to be approximately 440A/7.6V to reach 1875 C (348A/5.8V to hold temperature at 1600 C). Refer to e-log ID#605. 

Angelina Chen wrote:

Thursday, July 25, 2024, 15:18 Target container consists of two np-Ta fibres disk samples. Both disks are made from heat stabilized np-Ta fibres (150 C for 17 hours) and were pressed at 8 tons / 300 MPa. Sample 1 was made from np-Ta fibres spun using Dope solution #1. The sample 1 disk has an average thickness of 0.727 mm and a diameter of 17.113 mm. The mass of the green sample 1 disk is 0.1957 g.  Sample 2 was made from np-Ta fibres spun using Dope solution #6. The sample 2 disk has an average thickness of 0.688 mm and a diameter of 17.123 mm. The mass of the heat stabilized fibres used to make the green sample 2 disk is 0.1860 g. The mass loss from pressing the heat stabilized fibres was virtually zero. Therefore, while the mass of the green sample 2 disk was not measured, it can be extrapolated to be 0.1860 g.  The target container was wrapped with Ta foil. Each sample disk was wrapped in graphite foil and placed inside the target container horizontally near the center.  The Omega slope was initially set to 0.980. After reviewing previous logbook on np-Ti The chamber is currently being pumped down. The current reading (as of 15:40) is 4.70e-05 Torr.  Two heating schedules will be tested. Heating schedule 1 entails heating both sample disks at ~1000 C until the pressure reaches below 1.00e-06 Torr. Once heating schedule 1 is completed, sample 1 will be removed. Heating schedule 2 entails heating sample 2 to ~1800 C until the pressure reaches below 1.00e-06 Torr. TGHT is estimated to be approximately 440A/7.6V to reach 1875 C (348A/5.8V to hold temperature at 1600 C). Refer to e-log ID#605.

 Friday, July 26, 2024, 09:52

Chamber has been pumped down overnight, pressure currently at 1e-6 Torr.

Initiate auto ramping 1A/min to reach 200 A. 

Good vac = 3 e-5 Torr

Bad vac = 5 e-5 Torr. 

Continue to monitor.

 Friday, July 26, 2024, 17:06

Gas evolution has seen observed to be completed as TGHT slowly ramping up.  Temp is currently reading at 1015 C, TGHT 164A/2.43V.  Pressure holding at 2.4e-6 Torr but slowly coming down, see attachment 1.  Will keep this setting and cool it down on Sunday.

 Sunday, July 28, 2024, 11:27

Temperature has been holding sturdy at ~1000C for over 36 hours, TGHT at 164A/2.59V (a slight increase in the voltage).  Pressure is currentlyat 4.5e-7 Torr (see attachment #2 for the archiver).

Ramping down TGHT at 1A/min. 

Will remove both samples on Monday to measure the mass loss.  Sample 1 will be analyzed.  Sample 2 will be loaded back to the Evap 2 for further heating to reach about 1800 C.

 Monday, July 29, 2024, 14:29

Both samples were removed from the chamber and measured for weight loss, and Sample 2 was put back for further heating; Thanks Darwin for helping up with this. 

Chamber is currently pump down, pressure at 6.0e-5 Torr. Will ramp up TGHT once the pressure has come down to 10e-6 Torr. 

 Monday, July 29, 2024, 16:52

Pressure at 6.5e-6 Torr.  Ramping up TGHT at 2A/min to reach 164A (previous setting at ~1000C).

 Tuesday, July 30, 2024, 09:02

Temperature has been holding at about 1000C. THGT at 160A(readback,, 164A setpoint)/2.56V.  Pressure 7e-7 Torr.

Stepping up 1A/min in 20A increment to reach 1800C. 

Continue to monitor.

 Tuesday, July 30, 2024, 10:07

Plotting out THGT (readback) vs Temp:

181 A/2.91V, 1070C

206A/3.34V, 1153C

225A/3.7V, 1213C

245A/4.1V, 1277C

Wednesday, July 31, 2024, 11:26

TGHT tripped off due to HS water flow NOT oK,  Attempted to clear it but did not work, see attachment #3. 

Will stop the process for now and investigate the problem. 

 Wednesday, July 31, 2024, 12:10

Darwin helped to check the surrounding of the lab for water leaks; everything was good and the chamber remained under vacuum. 

All the water paddle wheels were moving.  A slight touch of the HS paddle wheel somehow cleared the interlock. Maybe the connection was loose. 

We checked all the paddle wheels by shutting and opening the water valves.  All the interlocks responded correctly. 

Continue with the heating process...

Ramping up TGHT at 2A/min to reach 300A.

 Wednesday, July 31, 2024, 15:27

TGHT vs temp:

294A/5.1V 1477C

343A/6.0A, 1633C

402A/7.2V, 1818C

Will keep TGHT at 410A (setpoint) for night.(see attachment#4)

 Tuesday, August 06, 2024, 10:00

Venting Evap 2; the process is done.

The sample will be analyzed. 

Monday, August 19, 2024, 13:06

Target container consists of 2 samples, and both samples were heat stabilized at 150 C for 24 hours then pre-oxidized at 360 C for 4 hours:

1.  PVP (7% wt/v) spun fibres 0.0569 g

2.  np-Ta (Dope 7) spun fibres: 0.1730 g

Samples are wrapped in graphite foil and loaded into a target boat which is wrapped with Ta foil.

Omega slope set at 0.99.

Similar heat treatment as the 1st attempt, see e-log #667 (1800 C = 402A/7.2V).

Good vac = 3 e-5 Torr

Bad vac = 5 e-5 Torr.

Chamber is currently pumping down.

 Monday, August 19, 2024, 16:52

Chamber pressure @ 4.6e-6 Torr.

Initiate auto-ramping at 1A/min to reach 400A.

Continue to monitor the pressure and TGHT.

Tuesday, August 20, 2024, 09:48

TGHT reached 400 A/6.87V about 10 hr ago.  But the temperature has been holding at 1665 C. 

The voltage is much lower this time compared to the previous heat treatment.  See attachment #1 for the overall process.

Ramping up to 450A.  Continue monitoring..

Tuesday, August 20, 2024, 15:43

TGHT at 450A (readback 441A)/7.892V, temperature holding at 1803C

Pressure coming down from 1.62e-6 Torr. 

Continue to hold on the temperature for a few more hours before cooling it down

 Wednesday, August 21, 2024, 09:40

Temperature was holding for about 18 hours before ramping down TGHT was initiated at 2A/min.

The samples can be taken out after 2 pm.

A boat lined up with graphite and wrapped in 3 Ta heatshileds

Vacuum IGP1 initial =6.1 e-06 Torr

Target temperature on OMEGA= 1800-1900 C

OMEGA slope:= 0.990

Target time at max temperature = 4 hours

Final TGHT current= ~400A (adjustable)

Heating autoramp started semi-manually on  TGHT  to 65A and then at continue to 100A

After peak heat at 1A/min  to =400 A TGHT

Good vacuum = 5.0 e-04 Torr

Bad vacuum = 5.0E-02 Torr

Tuesday, September 10, 2024, 22:22

1810C OMEGA at 439A TGHT readback

 Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 10:36

Two thermocouples were inserted through the left side of the copper heat shield, see attachment #1.  One thermocouple is attached to the target tube with a Ta-wire, and the other is attached to the back block.

Data gathering: 

1.  Target heater (IEVAP2:TGHT) setpoint current/voltage  

2.  Target heater (IEVAP2:TGHT) readback current/voltage

4.  Tube heater (IEVAP2:TBHT) setpoint current/voltage

3.  Thermocouples voltages & controls' readback (IEVAP2:TCM) 

Wednesday, August 22, 2012, 17:25

Note:  LP-FEBIAD target container ( W.O#37918-3) was coated with TaC and sintered on July 19 for UCx#5 target.  Then, a last minute request from the Sci Dev. to run the UCx#5 in LP-SIS. 

The target container was coated with TaC  (Using IR heat lamp to speed the drying time)

It's wrapped with 3 layers of Ta as the heat-shield, including the backblock.

TGHT will be ramped up to 580A at 0.5A/min.

TBHT will be ramped up to 230A at 0.5A/min.

Chamber is currently being pumped down.

 Wednesday, August 22, 2012, 18:27

Chamber was pumped down to 5.4e-6 Torr; the HS cooling water valve was opened and no leaks were detected.

Stepped up TGHT/TBHT to 20A.

Initiated auto-ramping...

 Friday, August 24, 2012, 00:21

TGHT/TBHT have reached to 580A/230A, respectively, and have remained at the currents for ~10hrs.

Current, IG1 is at 9.3e-7 torr.  The sintering process is done.

Initiating auto-cool down at 2A/min.

 Friday, August 24, 2012, 13:31

TGHT & TBHT power supplies are off.

The chamber is vented.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 16:35

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, October 10, 2012, 17:31

Chamber was pumped down to mid 10-6 Torr.  HS water valve was opened and no leak in vacuum was observed.

TGHT and TBHT were stepped up to 30A.  Everything seems fine...

Initiated auto-ramping:  Good vac = 2.0e-5 torr, Bad Vac = 3.0e-5 Torr. 

 Thursday, October 11, 2012, 10:35

TBHT has reached to 230A, 3.52V. 

TGHT has reached to 232A.  Vacuum is stabilizing at 8.0e-7 Torr, BP at 19 mTorr. 

Increased TGHT ramping rate to 2.0A/min. 

 Thursday, October 11, 2012, 14:55

TGHT reached to 580A/9.95V, local 575A/10.03V. 

TGHT at 230A/3.62V

Local target container temperature measured at ~1430C, central block at ~1220C

IGP1 currently at 1.68e-6 Torr. 

Heaters will be remained on for another 2 hours or so before auto-cooling is initiated.

 Thursday, October 11, 2012, 17:49

Target container has been heated for over 4 hrs.

IGP1 @ 1.10e-6 Torr, BP @ 18mTorr

Auto-cooling initiated, rate @ 2A/min.

 Friday, October 12, 2012, 10:02

TBHT/TGHT have reached to zero current. 

P/S off.

Venting chamber..

see attachment#1: striptool archiver

 Tuesday, October 16, 2012, 10:35

Container looks good.  It will be used for TiC#3

Tuesday, October 16, 2012, 14:12

Target is filled with 360 discs of TiC (with 1 mole of graphite) backed on C-grv foil.  

No Ta heat-shields wrapped around the container.

One regular end-cap is inserted and expanded.  The other end is inserted with a D-cap for out-gassing.

Re ionizer foil is inserted.

TGHT will be ramped up to 580A, TBHT to 230A; ramping rate at 0.2A/min.

Chamber is currently being pumped down...

 Tuesday, October 16, 2012, 16:11

HS water valve is opened.  No leaks is detected.

Vacuum is coming down steadily.  IGP1 currently at 1.7e-5 Torr.

 Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 11:41

The chamber was pumped down overnight.  IGP1 reads at 5.8e-7 Torr.

Both TGHT & TBHT were stepped up to 30A. P/S OK! 

Initiated auto-ramping...

Monday, October 22, 2012, 10:58

TGHT and TBHT have reached to 580A & 230A, respectively (see attachment#1).

IGP1 currently at 6.27e-6 Torr.  BP@20mTorr.

Currents will remain at max for another 3 hours. 

Local temperature measured at 1500C (container surface), 1300C (center block)

 Monday, October 22, 2012, 17:27

Auto cooling initiated.

 Tuesday, October 23, 2012, 17:54

TGHT & TBHT are at 0A.  P/S & pumps off. 

The chamber will be vented, and the target will be taken out for inspections.

 Tuesday, January 22, 2013, 12:38

This is to test the newly developed RFQ target to be commissioned this year.  The purpose of this test is to see how well the RFQ components can sustain the high temperature.  One thermocouple is connected inside the target and the other is connect outside of the Cu heat-shield.  RGA will be running to analyze the gasses. 

TGHT will be auto-ramped up at the rate of 5A/20min to max current at 1000A.  

More info later... 

Wednesday, February 06, 2013, 16:11 

Heat testing Test#1 complete.  Data acquisition in progress....  The test was successful. 

Re-heating Test#2 is in progress.  This time, with a new re-design target container (less black block mass).  Two thermocouples are connected:  One on the back block and the other inside the RFQ components.  

The TGHT current will go up to at least 580A and the gasses will be monitored with the RGA. Ramping rate:  0.5A/min.  Set final current at 400A for now. 

TBHT will remain off at this point until we can know the temperature when TGHT is up to 580A.  

 Thursday, February 07, 2013, 11:39

TGHT reached to 400A/6.30V. 

Back block temperature measured at 18.307mV = 1003 C. 

RFQ component temperature measured at  = 143 C.

TGHT will be ramped up to 580A. 

Continue to monitor...

 Saturday, February 09, 2013, 09:40

TGHT at 580A, TBHT at 271A (setpoint).  Seeing CO2 gassing out.  Ramped down TBHT to zero A and continue to monitor.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013, 16:39  

TGHT heated up to 580A and remained at that current over the long weekend.  

The thermocouple on the back block was reading wrong because the wires away from the tip were fused to the container at high current.  (see attachment #1) 

TBHT was ramped up to 300A and then lower to 280A; mass 32 (CH3OH), and 44 (CO2) were detected.  This is unusual at 580A = 1200C. 

Both TBHT and TGHT were ramped down to zero and the outgassing of these molecules continue to detect on the RGA. (see attachment #2).  Suspect of these gasses from the Cu heat-shield or the thermocouple SiO insulator.

For complete process on screenshots, see my dropbox.

Next:  Coat this container with TaC and use for the SiC target.

 Monday, February 18, 2013, 16:28

The RFQ target container is coated with TaC and ready to be sintered.  No Ta-heat shields are used.  This container will be used for the SiC#28-LPSIS-RFQ. 

Two thermocouples are welded on the container:  One on the end cap and the other on the back block (see attachment#1)

The target will be heated to at least  TGHT at 580A and TBHT at 300A; the vacuum and gasses will be monitored.  

The chamber is currently being pumped down...  

 Friday, February 22, 2013, 14:24

The gasses were analyzed with the RGA:

TGHT @ 520A, TBHT @ 300A:  Mass 28 (CO) reached to max current of ~5pA before the current started to decrease, (see attachment #2).  This could be the indication of the material(s) in the target container was "sort of" fully reduced. 

TGHT was further ramped up  to 600A and heated for a few hours.  The temperature on the end was measured at 1252C and the center block was at 1580C.  (see attachment #3).

The container was successfully sintered with TaC. 

Friday, February 22, 2013, 15:49

The LP-SIS RFQ target container was previously coated with TaC and sintered up to ~1500C (TGHT @ 600A, TBHT @ 300A). 

The container is loaded with 325 discs of SiC, a total of 10.9cm in length. 

For this process,

TGHT will be ramped up to 600A and at the same time TBHT will go up to 300A.  No Ta-heat shield is used. 

The ramping rate is set to 0.2A/min.

The chamber is currently being pumped down. 

 Friday, March 01, 2013, 15:57

The target was further heated up to 650A TGHT and 300A TBHT for 4 hours yesterday; then it was cooled down.  

Some reactions on the target end (where the D-cap inserted) was observed.  

Yellow crystals on the D-cap was formed, just as we have seen before.  

Overall, the target looks good!  

See attachment#2 for the target production. 

More about the gasses analyst from the RGA later...