The FLIR and test mass stand-in have been transferred into the cleanroom. A software test will be run as soon as we get an ethernet cable long enough to reach into the cleanroom where the camera is set up. Once this is finished, the FLIR will be moved aside for construction of the FROSTI! When completed, the camera will be placed back into position for in-air optical testing.

There were no issues with the physical replacement of the post, except that the fork clamp on the post needs to be on one of the perpendicular, not diagonal, axes in order to be secure. I chose the front axis (towards the screen) as before in order to easily access the alignment knobs.

To align, I followed the same process as last time except for a more purposeful original rough alignment. For alignment purposes, the visual camera was used. For the first rough alignment, I pulled the camera as far back as possible on the x axis (with the z axis roughly centered), then moved the entire stage setup back until I could just see both the top and bottom edge of the screen. Then, I set the z-axis to an extreme in order to use the edge of the screen to align the rotational and y-axis pieces for the fine alignment.

For the fine alignment, starting with the z and x axis at extremes, I began by aligning the rotational axis. To do this, I used the gaps between the top of the screen and the camera window on the far left and right of the image. When these gaps were equal I knew the rotation was adequately set. Then, I set the y-axis so that the pattern was centered. If the gaps were no longer even, I redid the rotation alignment and ditto with the y axis until both were set. This resulted in a rotation of about two degrees and a y axis at just under 3.5.

To set the z and x axis, I centered the z-axis using the top and bottom of the screen, which should both be visible if the rough alignment was done correctly. Then, I adjusted the x axis by pushing it forward until the top and bottom of the screen were just out of the frame. As with the rotational and y-axis, I iteratively fine tuned the x and z axis until both the image was centered in the z axis and only the screen was in view. This resulted in a z-axis value of just over 5.5 and an x axis value of nearly 1.75.

Pictures are included of all alignment knobs and the new post/stage setup!

Below are slides giving an update on RH O6 design progress.

All Sorensen power supplies are turned off. The Cymac system is down (All Chassis are down)

If you need more information or if you need to turn them back on please contact Xuesi Ma.

Today I fixed the final bit related to the nitrogen gas tank, which is to apply sealing tape to M-NPT connector of the hose to prevent leakage (file: AirGunSealed.jpg)
After application of the tape, no audible leak can be heard from connection between the hose and the air gun.

The general operating procedure for the gas tank is as following:

1. Turn the regulator (blue handle) anti-clockwise still it's loose
2. Turn the valve on nitrogen as tank anti-clockwise, immediately the RHS meter of the regulator would jump to approx 2000 psi. This is the standard pressure for high pressure gas tank
3. Turn the regulator clock-wise slowly until the pressure one the LHS meter face reads approx 60 psi. This is sufficient for drying parts with. At this point, the flow pressure still should register zero
4. Press the trigger on the air gun, a high pressure air flow should come out and the flow meter should increase
5. When finished, close the gas tank valve, turn the regulator anti-clockwise, then press the air gun trigger to release gas left in the hose/gun

Today I installed the second desktop workstation in 1129. The new machine is an Intel NUC13ANHi5, with a 12-Core Intel i5-1340P CPU, 32GB DDR4 RAM, and a 1TB SSD.

I loaded it with a fresh installation of Debian 12 and installed the LIGO CDS workstation (control room) tools. It is assigned the hostname ws4 and and the static IP address 192.168.1.19 on the local lab network. Like the other CDS workstations, there is just one user account accessible with the usual credentials.

The machine is fully set up and ready for use.

Set-up of the first CDS workstation for 1129, ws3, is complete and the machine is ready for use. The login credentials are the same as the other lab machines.

All that now remains is to install a permanent cable tray for running the new Ethernet cables between the electronics rack and bench (they are currently dangling from the suspended lights).

I delivered new NEMA 5-15 (120V / 15 A) power cables to the lab for the following items:

• WS2 (cleanroom) cart - 10ft cable
• Electronics workbench overhead LED - 10ft cable
• Both PI heater controller sets - (2) 6ft cables

I installed the new cables on the WS2 cart and the workbench myself, and left the two 6ft cables (as pictured below) for Aiden to install on the PID controllers after the current bake is finished.

I have created two more plots. One on the transmitted power for a specific configuration. This was done by taking the product of the efficiency and the power released by surface area of the source plane for a configuration assuming it is at 300C. The second is a plot of how close the reflector is to the test mass I have included a contour line at 2mm the nominal proximity constraint. Both of these plots are generated for a 2cm wide target plane.

Somethings of note: Because the proximity requires no modeling and can be determined purely mathematically it is easy to re-generate this plot of other target widths. If you increase the target width the proximity contour moves upward and downwards if reduced.

Slides

I have re-run the optimization plots with the changes mentioned last week. 

I have added the heat maps of the HOM scattering from HR deformation and the HOM scattering due to the OPD difference as well as the curvature actuation of the surface. 

Action items for facilities

• Ceiling lights replacement
• Fume hood cleaned and refurbished
• Sink countertop cleaning
• Floor cleaned and waxed
•  

[Pamella]

Yesterday, I did a new data collection. I could get a better data in this time and I realized than I need use some angle on the reflector for got a better shot. I need do that because the FLIR camera just is able to get the triangle shape for complete if I keep exactly in same line for center point on the camera but for the data now I need move the refletor to go up and go down. So wasn't working very well if I keep the reflector without angle.

Now I am using the refletor with a angle. In the more high part I turn the mask for look the table and in the lower part I turn the mask to look up. I attached a photo below for this configuration. Also the processes to get the data was the same than I using last time, the only diference is now I just moved the pillar after get data for high position and lower position for the same reference point on the triangle shape.

Note: In most data it is impossible to keep the same parameter for current, voltage and temperature. Most have a small variation but not a big difference. For example: I got the temperature in the first position 46.8 °C and in the second position I got 47.1 °C, it's just an example. It's just so we know that we don't have the exact same parameters all the time. In my opinion this is not a problem because it is just a small variation.

The process to get data

• 09:35 am: Turned on the device (current on). I wanted for 30 minutes before start get data.
• 10:05 am: Started taking snap on position one (Reference point: -0.10, 0.050). Parameters:0.11A,1.7V,46.8°C
• I took four snap on the same position for compare after on data analyzes. I just wanted one minute break between the snaps. I did the same for every position.
• 10:15 am: Started taking snap on position two (Reference point:-0.10,-0.050 ). Parameters: 0.11A,1.7V,47.1° C
• 10:22 am: Started taking snap on position three (Reference point:0.00 ,0.050). Parameters: 0.11A,1.6V,48.1°C
• 10:26 am: Started taking snap on position four (Reference point: 0.00,-0.050). Parameters:0.11A,1.6V,48 °C
• 10:32 am: Started taking snap on position five (Reference point: 0.05,-0.050). Parameters:0.11A, 1.6V, 48°C
• 10:37 am: Started taking snap on position six (Reference point: 0.05,0.050). Parameters: 0.11A,1.7V,47.6 °C
• We can see in the photos attached below every position also I am working in the analyzes.

Dr. Richardson installed the new cabinet outside the room for the PPI equipments, and then I wiped all surfaces inside and outside of the new cabinet.

Dr.Richardson and I have finished organizing the PPI within the new cabinet. Also we have new supplies of gloves, and will likely have more supplies for other PPIs soon.

Aiden 3D printed a new bridge for the heater and I installed the new bridge yesterday.

I started collecting data to plot a calibration with the heater. I'm doing measurements with current and the thermocouple (thermometer) to compare with FLIR measurements and have a good calibration.

It should be noted that we can not have the zero length reducer and the gate valve on the same arm as they both have blind tapped holes. We need to decide if we want the gate valve or not as if we do, we will need to use the 3 inch long reducer.

Important Measurements:

From the back of the flange to the back of the RGA: 25.25 in

Height from bottom of the blank to the bottom of the chamber: 2.75 in

Change the 3D mask
• Started removing the old mask in the reflector.
• Started cutting the new aluminum lid for the new 3D mask and assembling in the 3D mask.
• Started doing the new cable connections for the light.
• Started testing the resistance in the new cable connections. The multimeter show us 14.2 Ω.
• Started attaching the mask with the light and the thermometer sensor.
• Started assembling the 3D mask in the reflector.
• Started the initial tests.
• 2:00 pm: Started testing the new mask. Parameters: 1.4 V 0.1A and 27 C
• 2:38 pm: Started taking snap. Final parameters:1.4 V 0.1A and Temperature: 39.9 C
• Started doing some adjustments in the triangles shapes for the futures tests.

Today we started re-configuring the vacuum chamber components.

Particle count
• 10:45 am : Starting the particle count in the clean room.
• 11:13 am : Finished the particle count in the clean room.
• Zone 3 :
  • 0.3 u: 2535
  • 0.5 u: 1413
  • 1.0 u: 789
• Zone 4 :
  • 0.3 u: 457
  • 0.5 u: 290
  • 1.0 u: 207
  Starting the reconfiguration.
  • 11:21 am: Started removing up-to-air valve
  • 11:30 am: Finished removing up-to-air valve.
  • 11:33 am: Started removing calibrated Ar Leak and the elbow.
  • 11:35 am: Finished removing calibrated Ar Leak and started assembling the up-to-air valve.
  • 11:47 am: Finished assembling up-to-air valve.
  • 11:48 am: Started removing magnetron gauge.
  • 11:55 am: Finished removing magnetron gauge.
  • 11:57 am: Started installing the elbow and calibrated Ar Leak and started removing the RGA probe
  • 12:13 pm: Finished installing the elbow and calibrated Ar Leak.
  • 12:20 pm: Break for lunch.
  • 01:25 pm: Come back from lunch break.
  • 01:30 pm: Started removing RGA line.
  • 01:39 pm: Finished removing RGA line.
  • 01:39 pm: Started removing gate valve [RGA line] and finished removing gate valve.
  • 02:00 pm: Started installing gate valve in the new position.
  • 02:08 pm: Fished installing gate valve [RGA line].
  • 02:09 pm: Checked the screws in the elbow to gate valve. [RGA line].
  • 02:28 pm: Finished checking the screws in the elbow to gate valve [RGA line].
  • 02:29 pm: Started installing RGA line.
  • 02:39 pm: Finished installing RGA line.
  • 02:50 pm: Started installing magnetron gauge.(In this part we assembled gauge with the used gasket)
  • 03:02 pm: Finished installing magnetron gauge.
  • 03:04 pm: Started installing RGA probe [RGA line].
  • 03:13 pm: Finished installing RGA probe [RGA line].
  • 03:15 pm: Connected the cables to the magnetron gauge.
  • 03:20 pm: Started the testing in the vacuum chamber.
  • 04:30 pm: Started installing the RGA 200 and connected the cables (power cable and DB9 cable).
  • 04:52 pm: Finished installing the RGA 200 and connected the cables (power cable and DB9 cable).
  • 04:53 pm: Started testing the RGA connections. Logrus is able to recognize and connect to RGA unit. We are leaving the turbo pump on for a few hours before checking back for pressure readouts.
  • 05:00 pm : Starting the particle count in the clean room.
    1. Zone 3 :
       • 0.3 u: 2244
       • 0.5 u: 997
       • 1.0 u: 207
    2. Zone 4 :
       • 0.3 u: 2993
       • 0.5 u: 1579
       • 1.0 u: 498
  • 05:30 pm : Finished the particle count in the clean room.
  • 05:34 pm: Test pressure readout from the gauges.
    1. Channel 1 : 1.06E-5 mbar
    2. Channel 2 :8.89E-6 mbar
    3. Channel 3 :5.0E-4 mbar
  • 05:59 pm: Test pressure readout from the gauges.
    1. Channel 1: 9.09E-6 mbar
    2. Channel 2: 7.75E-6 mbar
    3. Channel 3: 5.0E-4 mbar

[Luis, Luke]

RGA Volume: T = 22°C, P = 2.10e-9 Torr
Main Volume: T = 21°C, P = 5.71e-9 Torr

Measurements of the current state of the vacuum systems were taken today, now that the system had reached UHV status, the results are attached bellow. The first plot overlays the data of the empty chamber taken on 12/16/24 before inserting the MR material, and the data of the system today, with the MR inside. The second plot displays the S/N Ratio of the system. The last plot displays the data of the system with the Ar leak open and closed. Notice that it is common for the Ar leak close data to fail due to the calculation of the gas flux per unit ion current, which is dependent on the Ar peak.

[Luis, Luke]

The MR material was placed in the vacuum chamber following standard procedures to ensure the vacuum remained as clean as possible. During this process, we only opened the main volume while keeping the gate valve between the two volumes closed to maintain the UHV in the RGA section.

An RGA scan was taken before this process, this will be used to compare the state of the vacuum with the sample inside to determine whether the MR material is vacuum compatible.

[Luis, Luke]

RGA Volume: T = 23°C, P = 3.0e-9 Torr
Main Volume: T = 22°C, P = 9.90e-9 Torr

After letting the vacuum cool down for a couple days, we reattached the magnets and sensors, then we performed a RGA scan of the vacuum system, now containing the MR sample. The results are attached below. Something to notice is that we are technically not under UHV, though Luke and I believe the reading of the sensor is not completely accurate since it was still coming to a steady state, further test will be performed when the physics building is open again.

[Luke, Luis]

On Friday, 11/1/24, the MR was unpackaged and cleaned under the flow bench. We noticed an ink stain on one of the corners of the material. After wiping it down with IPA and Vector Alpha wipes, the stain was removed. However, the material showed some wear.

After cleaning, we placed it in the bake station and applied a stainless steel baking protocol. On Tuesday, 11/4/24, the material was removed from the furnace and packaged in a static shielding bag. The MR was wrapped in Vector Alpha wipes.

• Hosted Lukes model on Chimay. It's available at https://richardsonlab.ucr.edu/real-time-frosti
• The sourcecode is at Github. It is clones at /var/www/html/real-time-frosti, and this is the block added to nginx config file at /etc/nginx/sites-available/default :
  
  location /real-time-frosti {

root /var/www/html;
index index.html index.htm index.php;
}
• Also added this line to the crontab, so the code will be checked for updated from the sourcecode every five minutes. 
  
  */5 * * * * cd /var/www/html/real-time-frosti/ && git pull 
  
  
• TODO: Move the sourcecode from Github to git.ligo.org, and make the repository public. 

[Luke, Luis]

After the gasket replacement performed on Monday (11/18/24) we let the vacuum pump down to UHV pressure for a couple days. Today (11/20/24) we measured the pressure to be 5.30*e^-9 with a temperature of 22C, and we performed a leak test and RGA Scan.

Here are the results:

Chamber temperature: 23C

Chamber Initial Pressure: ~1.8e-8 main, ~3.5e-8 rga

Did another leak test after monday's work to check how the seal was holding up initial leak was 5.5e-9. I then tried to tighten the bolts a bit more the leak rose to 1.9e-8 about a factor of 4 change.

I checked another flange to confirm that I was preforming the test properly. I measured the elbow to pressure sensor to be 2.2e-11 aproximatly what it was earlier in the month (1.9e-11). 

I ran another isolation test. It is still exponetial. Graph attached.

Thoughts:

I belive at this point that it is a knife edge issue when replacing the gasket I checked both flanges and the new gasket. The tp knife edge seemed perfectly fine, the gasket had very minor scratches, and the reducing cross had very small imperfections on its edge. 

We may want to try and use the liquid sealant or get annealed gaskets for 4.5"

[Luke, Luis, Mary, Ma]

On 10/22/24 Luke, Ma, Mary and myself ran a leak test, the results are displayed below. The overall pressure of the vacuum was 2.0e-8 and the temperature readings were 26C for the RGA and 25C for the main volume.

[Aiden, Luis]

Tested every weld and flange to find leaks. Only found that the flange on the turbo pump and reducing nipple was still at 2e-9 torr on the leak. The chamber still rose in pressure when the two gate valves were closed but no noticeable leak could be found on the lid or welds.