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Experiment Overview

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Magnetically Activated and Guided Isotope Separation

Part of the book series: Springer Theses ((Springer Theses))

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Abstract

The apparatus for enriching Li-7 is simple in principle, consisting of an atomic source, a stabilized laser at 670 nm, and a permanent magnet array. In practice, however, most components of the apparatus required careful design in order to operate both on their own and as integrated features on the apparatus. In this chapter, we provide details for all components of the apparatus. We describe several variations in design for the atomic source, the layout for the entire optical system, and the construction of the permanent magnet array. In addition, we describe all the tools that we incorporate—including a quadrupole mass spectrometer, quartz crystal thickness monitor, surface ionization detector, and laser-induced fluorescence—for fully characterizing the throughput of the apparatus.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We acquired enriched Li-6 from Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, Inc. in 10 g quantities packed in mineral oil. See http://www.isotopes.com.

  2. 2.

    Arduino Duemilanove. See: http://www.arduino.cc.

  3. 3.

    We acquired lithium from ESPI Metals as 0.5 in. diameter, 6.25 in. long rods packed under argon. See http://www.espimetals.com.

  4. 4.

    AeroRod heaters from ARi Industries, Inc. See http://www.ariindustries.com.

  5. 5.

    Super OMEGACLAD XL Heavy Duty Transition Junction Thermocouple Probes. See: http://www.omega.com.

  6. 6.

    osPID: The Open Source PID Controller. See http://www.ospid.com.

  7. 7.

    Durabond 952 Nickel Based 2000 ∘ F Adhesive. See: http://www.cotronics.com.

  8. 8.

    Precision Ceramics manufactured the disks that we used for this assembly. See http://www.precision-ceramics.com for details on Shapal-M (among other interesting technical ceramics).

  9. 9.

    The R.D. Mathis Company wound the filaments that we used in the assembly. See http://www.rdmathis.com.

  10. 10.

    Retaining rings and tungsten springs from Kimball Physics were used for spring loading the assembly. See http://www.kimballphysics.com.

  11. 11.

    We acquired this laser system from Toptica Photonics (DL pro, TA pro, and relevant electronics modules). See http://www.toptica.com.

  12. 12.

    We use an EXFO wavemeter (WA-1000). See http://www.exfo.com.

  13. 13.

    We bought a Hitachi (part no. HL6545MG) laser diode from ThorLabs. See http://www.thorlabs.com.

  14. 14.

    We salvaged several old models of current and temperature controllers from both Newport Corporation and Wavelength Electronics. See http://www.newport.com and http://www.teamwavelength.com.

  15. 15.

    We utilized several isolators designed for use with 780 nm light. By suitably rotating polarizers, we achieved isolation in accordance with specifications at the expense of transmission efficiency.

  16. 16.

    We acquired a tapered amplifier from eagleyard Photonics (part no. EYP-TPA-0670-00500-2003-CMT02-0000), which has since been acquired by Toptica Photonics.

  17. 17.

    We acquired this assembly from the group of Professor Kirk Madison at the University of British Columbia.

  18. 18.

    We also acquired the photodetector from Professor Kirk Madison. The photodiode itself is from Advanced Optical Components (now Finisar). Its part number is HFD6X80-13 (no longer in production).

  19. 19.

    Many components, particularly the frequency mixer and all subsequent components, were acquired from Mini-Circuits. See http://www.minicircuits.com. We acquired a sample for a VCO with output centered at 10 GHz from Hittite Microwave Corporation (part no. HMC530LP5). See http://www.hittite.com. This VCO included a divide-by-four output that we used for monitoring the VCO frequency on a counter. We acquired high gain amplifiers that operate at bandwidths up to 10 GHz from RF Bay, Inc (notably part no. LPA-10-20). See http://www.rfbayinc.com.

  20. 20.

    We use a 270 L/s Varian Galaxy Diode. Duniway Stockroom offers rebuilding services—see http://www.duniway.com. We acquired the bellows from Standard Bellows Company—see http://www.std-bellows.com.

  21. 21.

    This all-metal gate valve is from VAT Valve (part no. 48132-CE01). See http://www.vatvalve.com.

  22. 22.

    We use a Point Grey Chameleon CMLN-13S2M camera with a Fujinon HF25HA-1B lens. See http://www.ptgrey.com.

  23. 23.

    We used a linear actuator from Thomson Linear Motion (part no. MS33LGBL400). See http://www.thomsonlinear.com.

  24. 24.

    The tool came from ThorLabs (part no. SPW801). We mounted slit edges onto the wrench blades and interfaced the assembly to an optical post.

  25. 25.

    We used piezo-electric actuators and an open-loop controller from Newport Corporation (part nos. 8302-UHV-KAP and 8742). See http://www.newport.com.

  26. 26.

    We used Apiezon L as the lubricant. See http://www.apiezon.com.

  27. 27.

    We acquired N52 grade NdFeB magnets from SuperMagnetMan. See http://www.supermagnetman.net.

  28. 28.

    We used Halbach array templates for ensuring that we installed the magnets in the proper configuration. These templates included eight magnets glued into cutouts in an aluminum plate. The magnets were arranged in a Halbach configuration and were spaced by sufficiently far to not noticeably interact with adjacent magnets. We fixed magnets to be installed in a panel in the proper configuration by placing them on top of the magnets in the template on the opposite face of the aluminum.

  29. 29.

    We used an epoxy from Epo-Tek (part no 301-2). We chose this epoxy for its low outgassing, ability to cure at room temperature, and low viscosity.

  30. 30.

    We used a gaussmeter from Integrity Design & Research Corporation (part no. IDR-329). See http://www.integritydesign.com.

  31. 31.

    The cryogenics shop made our first o-rings by gluing a joint to form the proper shape. We repeatedly measured leaks on the chamber at the location of the joints on the two o-rings. We thus had o-rings made by a vendor (Marco Rubber). See http://www.marcorubber.com.

  32. 32.

    Atlas Technologies manufactures these innovative, yet expensive bi-metal flanges. See http://www.atlasuhv.com.

  33. 33.

    We use a Varian V551 turbo pump. Duniway Stockroom services Varian pumps.

  34. 34.

    We use a RGA from Stanford Research Systems. See http://www.thinksrs.com.

  35. 35.

    We use an Alta F47 camera (capable of operating at −20 ∘ C. See http://www.ccd.com.

  36. 36.

    We got the filters from ThorLabs (part no. NE60-B). See http://www.thorlabs.com.

  37. 37.

    We use an actuator from MDC Vacuum (part no. 660012). See http://www.mdcvacuum.com.

  38. 38.

    Accu-glass Products sells UHV compatible radial and linear bearings. See http://www.accuglassproducts.com.

  39. 39.

    We use a “shield” from Adafruit for driving stepper motors that interfaces to an arduino. See http://www.adafruit.com.

  40. 40.

    We use an amplifier from FEMTO Messtechnik GmbH (part no. DLPCA-200). See http://www.femto.de.

  41. 41.

    We use a thickness monitor from INFICON (including their Q-Pod transducer, sensor, and quartz crystal). See http://www.inficon.com.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Thomas R. Mazur

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Mazur, T.R. (2016). Experiment Overview. In: Magnetically Activated and Guided Isotope Separation. Springer Theses. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23956-9_3

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