From cbaxter at snf.stanford.edu Sat Apr 3 08:18:51 2010 From: cbaxter at snf.stanford.edu (cbaxter at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 08:18:51 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-03-31 00:38:00: quartz plate broke Message-ID: From jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu Sat Apr 3 16:09:47 2010 From: jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu (jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 16:09:47 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-03 16:09:47: Found MRC with foreline switch not open, heater tripped off Message-ID: At about 3:30 pm, Saturday, 4/3/10, I Found MRC with foreline switch not open, heater tripped off, diff pump cold.. Foreline read > 1000 mTorr. I checked with John Shott, then tried to recover. I pumped for a time, both "rough" and "foreline" read high now under no load, 50 or 60 mTorr. Perhaps fouled with oil. I reset the heater, it seems to be pumping, but foreline reads high. The diff pump oil may be burned but I will test pumping. From jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu Sat Apr 3 16:58:05 2010 From: jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu (jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 16:58:05 -0700 Subject: Comment mrc SNF 2010-04-03 16:58:05: MRC nearly recovered Message-ID: In standby, fore = 17 mTorr, Rough = 49. Under gas load, reading just a little higher than normal. With RF, seems about normal. One issue, the foreline is still rising rapidly when the valve is closed so chamber roughing must be done in about 3 stages, carefully returning to pump the foreline several times. Try to keep it below ~ 300 mTorr, and that high for only 10 or 20 seconds. In my opinion, OK to use carefully. Likely even better by tomorrow. jim From jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu Mon Apr 5 17:43:04 2010 From: jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu (jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2010 17:43:04 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-05 17:43:03: DIFF PUMP not pumping? Message-ID: worked ok for ~ 2 hrs, several runs, then diff pump acts like power is off or oil is low. Fore line OK, any gas flow at all brings up chamer pressure. Leak up rate OK, ~ 2 mTorr / min. From jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu Mon Apr 5 17:51:39 2010 From: jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu (jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2010 17:51:39 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-05 17:51:38: Diff pump switched off Message-ID: Since it acts like the diff pump oil is low, I switched off diff pump power, "High Vac", to allow the pump to cool for Cesar or Jim McVittle's attention later. 5:50 pm, 4/5/10 jim K From jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu Mon Apr 5 17:54:20 2010 From: jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu (jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2010 17:54:20 -0700 Subject: Shutdown mrc SNF 2010-04-05 17:54:20: diff pump low on oil? Off for cooling. Message-ID: From shott at snf.stanford.edu Tue Apr 6 17:09:39 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 17:09:39 -0700 Subject: Comment mrc SNF 2010-04-06 17:09:38: Can't get DP heater to come back on .... Message-ID: MRC Community: This afternoon we received our spare Santovac diffusion fluid and checked both the level and color (which is normally clear) of the fluid. We found it to be significantly low but otherwise looked pretty good. As a result, rather than dropping the diffusion pump, it seems more reasonable to fill it to the proper level. We have added about 300 cc of Santovac5 ... the full charge amount is only 500 cc so we were well down. The only trouble .... I can't seem to get the diffusion pump back on. Because I didn't turn it off, I don't know if there are any tricks. Hopefully, Jim Kruger or someone else will be able to figure this out and get the heater back on again. It is roughed down .... but needs the pump heater to come on. I did check the overtemp switch and it initially seemed to be an open circuit. After a bit of fiddling, to read 0 ohms. However, even after that, I measured no voltage at the plug, so wonder whether there is some sort of upstream interlock on the tool. Of course the heater will need to be on before pumping can be tested. Beccause the heater is not on, I don't want to clear the shutdown ... I will be out for 2-3 hours, but if anyone (Jim Kruger, Cesar, or Eric, for example) can get the heater back on, the shutdown can be cleared for vacuum testing. Thanks, John From shott at snf.stanford.edu Tue Apr 6 21:27:31 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 21:27:31 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-06 21:27:31: DP heater element is fried. Message-ID: Friends of MRC: After topping off the Santovac in the MRC, I was having trouble getting the heater to get hot. While I was away at dinner Eric did enough trouble shooting to figure out that the heating element had opened up. After applying a little penetrant, we were able to drop the heater .... it certainly has over heated to the point of flowing the high-temp insulation on the stove top heating element. As soon as we can confirm the pump model and voltage ... I think Varian VHS-6 but we need to be sure of that .... and make sure of voltage ... we can get a replacement heater element and new heater wire from Duniway. I think that the replacement heater assembly (rather than just the element) is about $200 and $50 more should get us plenty of high-temperature nickel wire and lugs. If things go smoothly and there are not too many interruptions, I hope that we can have thing reassembled and heating the DP by noon tomorrow (Wednesday) but I will keep you posted. Thanks, John From shott at snf.stanford.edu Wed Apr 7 18:11:48 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 18:11:48 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-07 18:11:48: Power to DP heater .... Message-ID: We put in a new DP heater and confirm that it now had continuity. However, it is still not heating. One side of the heater is powered, but the other side appears to be open, because it sitting at exactly the same voltage as the first side of the heater. This leads me to believe that there may be a problem with the contactor that powers the diffusion pump. I have found the schematic of this section and it appears as if contactor 3 is the next thing to look at to see From rissman at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 14:50:43 2010 From: rissman at snf.stanford.edu (rissman at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 14:50:43 -0700 Subject: Shutdown mrc SNF 2010-04-05 17:54:20: diff pump low on oil? Off for cooling. Message-ID: Jim Kruger and Eric P believe it is working. Putting it to yellow for testing. From rissman at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 14:50:58 2010 From: rissman at snf.stanford.edu (rissman at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 14:50:58 -0700 Subject: Comment mrc SNF 2010-04-08 14:50:58: Message-ID: From rissman at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 14:51:14 2010 From: rissman at snf.stanford.edu (rissman at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 14:51:14 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-08 14:51:14: testing Message-ID: Jim Kruger and Eric P believe it is working. Putting it to yellow for testing. From shott at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 20:47:00 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 20:47:00 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-03 16:09:47: Found MRC with foreline switch not open, heater tripped off Message-ID: Filled DP with about 300 cc of Santovac5 oil. Also found that the DP heater was bad. Replace the heater assembly with a fresh 208V heater. Then found that F5 has burned out .... likely during the shorting of the heater. After shutting dow the power to the system, I couldn't get the power back on ... at least to the DP. Eric P and Jim K resolved that, but I currently don't know how ... but will follow up later. John From shott at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 20:47:13 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 20:47:13 -0700 Subject: Comment mrc SNF 2010-04-03 16:58:05: MRC nearly recovered Message-ID: Filled DP with about 300 cc of Santovac5 oil. Also found that the DP heater was bad. Replace the heater assembly with a fresh 208V heater. Then found that F5 has burned out .... likely during the shorting of the heater. After shutting dow the power to the system, I couldn't get the power back on ... at least to the DP. Eric P and Jim K resolved that, but I currently don't know how ... but will follow up later. John From shott at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 20:47:25 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 20:47:25 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-05 17:43:03: DIFF PUMP not pumping? Message-ID: Filled DP with about 300 cc of Santovac5 oil. Also found that the DP heater was bad. Replace the heater assembly with a fresh 208V heater. Then found that F5 has burned out .... likely during the shorting of the heater. After shutting dow the power to the system, I couldn't get the power back on ... at least to the DP. Eric P and Jim K resolved that, but I currently don't know how ... but will follow up later. John From shott at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 20:47:50 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 20:47:50 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-05 17:51:38: Diff pump switched off Message-ID: Filled DP with about 300 cc of Santovac5 oil. Also found that the DP heater was bad. Replace the heater assembly with a fresh 208V heater. Then found that F5 has burned out .... likely during the shorting of the heater. After shutting dow the power to the system, I couldn't get the power back on ... at least to the DP. Eric P and Jim K resolved that, but I currently don't know how ... but will follow up later. John From shott at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 20:48:10 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 20:48:10 -0700 Subject: Comment mrc SNF 2010-04-06 17:09:38: Can't get DP heater to come back on .... Message-ID: Filled DP with about 300 cc of Santovac5 oil. Also found that the DP heater was bad. Replace the heater assembly with a fresh 208V heater. Then found that F5 has burned out .... likely during the shorting of the heater. After shutting dow the power to the system, I couldn't get the power back on ... at least to the DP. Eric P and Jim K resolved that, but I currently don't know how ... but will follow up later. John From shott at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 20:48:24 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 20:48:24 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-06 21:27:31: DP heater element is fried. Message-ID: Filled DP with about 300 cc of Santovac5 oil. Also found that the DP heater was bad. Replace the heater assembly with a fresh 208V heater. Then found that F5 has burned out .... likely during the shorting of the heater. After shutting dow the power to the system, I couldn't get the power back on ... at least to the DP. Eric P and Jim K resolved that, but I currently don't know how ... but will follow up later. John From shott at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 20:48:37 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 20:48:37 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-07 18:11:48: Power to DP heater .... Message-ID: Filled DP with about 300 cc of Santovac5 oil. Also found that the DP heater was bad. Replace the heater assembly with a fresh 208V heater. Then found that F5 has burned out .... likely during the shorting of the heater. After shutting dow the power to the system, I couldn't get the power back on ... at least to the DP. Eric P and Jim K resolved that, but I currently don't know how ... but will follow up later. John From shott at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 20:48:49 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 20:48:49 -0700 Subject: Comment mrc SNF 2010-04-08 14:50:58: Message-ID: Filled DP with about 300 cc of Santovac5 oil. Also found that the DP heater was bad. Replace the heater assembly with a fresh 208V heater. Then found that F5 has burned out .... likely during the shorting of the heater. After shutting dow the power to the system, I couldn't get the power back on ... at least to the DP. Eric P and Jim K resolved that, but I currently don't know how ... but will follow up later. John From shott at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 20:49:08 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 20:49:08 -0700 Subject: Comment mrc SNF 2010-02-05 13:23:36: diffusion pump weak Message-ID: Filled DP with about 300 cc of Santovac5 oil. Also found that the DP heater was bad. Replace the heater assembly with a fresh 208V heater. Then found that F5 has burned out .... likely during the shorting of the heater. After shutting dow the power to the system, I couldn't get the power back on ... at least to the DP. Eric P and Jim K resolved that, but I currently don't know how ... but will follow up later. John From shott at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 20:49:16 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 20:49:16 -0700 Subject: Comment mrc SNF 2010-03-12 19:47:36: I found MRC vented overnight 3-12-10, 9:30 am Message-ID: Filled DP with about 300 cc of Santovac5 oil. Also found that the DP heater was bad. Replace the heater assembly with a fresh 208V heater. Then found that F5 has burned out .... likely during the shorting of the heater. After shutting dow the power to the system, I couldn't get the power back on ... at least to the DP. Eric P and Jim K resolved that, but I currently don't know how ... but will follow up later. John From mihirt at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 8 21:55:28 2010 From: mihirt at snf.stanford.edu (mihirt at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 21:55:28 -0700 Subject: Comment mrc SNF 2010-04-08 21:55:27: Fluctuations in F-23 Message-ID: Freon 23 fluctuates during process, often triggers red Deviation light. From shott at snf.stanford.edu Mon Apr 12 10:05:56 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:05:56 -0700 Subject: Comment mrc SNF 2010-04-12 10:05:55: F5 replaced .... Message-ID: Over the weekend, Mary Calarrudo experienced pumping problems that appeared as if the DP fuse had blown. Measuring the voltage on the back connector to the DP showed that there was only power to one of the two powered legs. F5 had indeed blown ... according to the specs, that should have been a 15A fuse and we had been getting by with only a 10A fuse because that was all I could find at the time. A more thorough search turned up a 20A fuse that is now in the system. I have now ordered a stockpile of FNM-10, FNM-15, and FNM-20 time deleay fuses from McMaster-Carr. These are the 13/32" diamter approximately 1 1/2" long time delay fuses that are found in this system. Thanks, John From shott at snf.stanford.edu Mon Apr 12 10:07:37 2010 From: shott at snf.stanford.edu (shott at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:07:37 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-08 14:51:14: testing Message-ID: Vacuum system seems to be pumping properly with the replacement 208V pump heater .... particularly after putting in a better sized fuse than the marginal 10A fuse that I original had available. John From mihirt at snf.stanford.edu Tue Apr 13 20:53:17 2010 From: mihirt at snf.stanford.edu (mihirt at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:53:17 -0700 Subject: Comment mrc SNF 2010-04-13 20:53:17: Quartz block gone Message-ID: Sometime between Saturday evening and Tuesday evening, the remaining quartz block vanished. From jparker at snf.stanford.edu Tue Apr 20 08:09:20 2010 From: jparker at snf.stanford.edu (jparker at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 08:09:20 -0700 Subject: Shutdown mrc SNF 2010-04-20 08:09:20: Mechanical pump insufficient Message-ID: Roughing pressure gauge sits at 120 mtorr 20+ min, even w/ roughing valve closed. Opening gate valve 0.5-1 turn in this state makes foreline gauge sit at 80 mtorr with no decrease in pressure for 5 minutes at least (and probably much more). So, it looks like a real mechanical pump problem rather than just the roughing pressure gauge reading strangely. From eenriquez at snf.stanford.edu Tue Apr 20 10:33:48 2010 From: eenriquez at snf.stanford.edu (eenriquez at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:33:48 -0700 Subject: Shutdown mrc SNF 2010-04-20 08:09:20: Mechanical pump insufficient Message-ID: Loose roughing tc connector. Reseated the connector. From dalyx at snf.stanford.edu Wed Apr 21 21:03:26 2010 From: dalyx at snf.stanford.edu (dalyx at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:03:26 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-21 21:03:26: the quartz inner tube (bell jar) is very dirty.... can not see the plasma Message-ID: Tried cleaning with IPA but does not seem to help From dalyx at snf.stanford.edu Thu Apr 22 14:42:32 2010 From: dalyx at snf.stanford.edu (dalyx at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:42:32 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-22 14:42:32: Roughing pressure meter moving in abrupt jumps Message-ID: the needle starts at atmosphere and then jumps to 100 mT and then again to 60 mT.... it is quite abrupt.... Not sure if the reading is reliable From cbaxter at snf.stanford.edu Sat Apr 24 08:40:13 2010 From: cbaxter at snf.stanford.edu (cbaxter at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 08:40:13 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-22 14:42:32: Roughing pressure meter moving in abrupt jumps Message-ID: Cleaned the tc foreline... From cbaxter at snf.stanford.edu Sat Apr 24 08:40:53 2010 From: cbaxter at snf.stanford.edu (cbaxter at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 08:40:53 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-21 21:03:26: the quartz inner tube (bell jar) is very dirty.... can not see the plasma Message-ID: Cleaned the quartz belljar... From jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu Fri Apr 30 19:56:30 2010 From: jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu (jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:56:30 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-30 19:56:30: Found MRC 150 watts, no plasma Message-ID: zgou was enabled but no where to be found. The 150 watts was being reflected into the RF generator. I secured the system, removed the sample and checked operation. Seems OK except that the Roughing TC read out is no loner fuctioning. From jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu Fri Apr 30 19:57:58 2010 From: jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu (jimkruger at snf.stanford.edu) Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:57:58 -0700 Subject: Problem mrc SNF 2010-04-30 19:57:58: Roughing TC readout broken? Message-ID: System can be used with care, but no way to know when roughing is complete.