Opening Checklist

Currently unparsed and unmodified from Stanford... Please update!

CHECKLIST TO DO BEFORE A SYSTEM OPENING OR PLANNED POWER SHUTDOWN/OUTAGE Last updated 1-25-2006 MWistey

/---- P = power shutdown |/--- O = opening

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Now:

PO Meeting: assign tasks.
O Everything here? Source material, cells, crucibles, gaskets, wire, etc.
PO Check etch chemicals.
O Bake vacsorbs.
O Leak check.
PO Email growers@snow so everyone in the lab knows to expect an opening.
P Get a 5kW (or larger) generator as backup to the backup power.
O Load a 3" junk wafer to keep the CAR clean during opening.

Day before:

PO Regen cryo pumps.
PO Turn off liquid N2 to cryo shroud.
PO Cool sources to 0, except possibly Ga (100C). Disconnect sources, except
Ga. Set them all to manual power.
O Drain source flange cooling water thru the plugged (3rd) port, then purge
thoroughly with air. (Trapped water can freeze due to liquid nitrogen in
the chamber, or it can boil during the bake, or it can simply get all
over your gloves while you're trying to stay clean.) Repeat for CAR
cooling water, and also for any cells which will be removed.
O Disconnect the shutter rods and remove the wagon wheel.
PO Assign tasks.
O Locate source materials: Al, Ga, In, As, Sb, Be, Si.
O Clean out all tools & work areas, including hoods.
O Use isopropanol to wipe down all flat surfaces: hoods, table,
chiller, etc. Also wipe down any tools which will be used. And wipe
down the MBE machine thoroughly, especially near any ports which will
be opened.
O Wipe down the isopropanol bottles themselves, & the sprayers in the hoods.
O Degrease tools. Use 1 capful of MicroPosit in a very large beaker, add
tools and enough water to fill beaker, bring to a boil & let cool. Then
soak in acetone, then in isopropanol.
PO Walk through the opening/shutdown mentally.
O Grease bolts. Use only the high temperature moly-disulfide grease.
Bolts which have never been baked, and are still greased, don't need
to be greased again. Check every bolt to make sure its threads are
okay and that it hasn't been stretched or stripped.
PO On Sys4: torque (inch pounds) the mini all-metal valve on the CBr
injector (closest to growth chamber). If necessary, detach the CBr4
source and move it out of the way of the opening.
O Sweep lab with dustmop.
P Change cooling water over to industrial process water. Purge the glycol
if possible, but don't seal both lines, and don't let water be
uncirculated for more than 60 seconds: it will boil or freeze or both!
P Shut off gas flows: N2 and CBr4 (blue valve), and their power.

Day of:

O Place bags of clean gloves and clean wipes where needed.
O Stock up on kaptan tape, Al foil,
O Move trolleys away.
PO Gate valves closed, including sump, 3 TT.
O Ion pumps running, but gated off. Check on them repeatedly.
PO Take mass spec for comparison.
O Open As cracker valve.
P Shut off all electronics if possible. Heated viewports need 30min
between clicks.
P Shut down arsenide/telluride with "shutdown -g0" (as root). It'll ask
if you really want to shut down.
P Close the vacuum valves on the liquid nitrogen diffusion pumps in the
back hallway to prevent oil backstreaming.
P For LN2, get a nitrogen tank & hose to drive the phase separator valve.
Also find a backup power source for the valve controllers in the back hall.
O Attach glovebag(s) if using them. Stock with unopened XL gloves & thin
chemwipes & gaskets, and Ziplock bags, greased bolts, gasket pullers,
wrenches, razor knife, source material...
O Close cryo gate valve.
O Sweep with doodleduster dust mop to prevent dust being kicked up by traffic.

While venting (or during shutdown):
O Flip the Danger sign on the door of the lab.
O Watch ion pump gauges.
O Fill vacsorbs in case of emergency pumpdown.
O Check As cracker valve: should be open during any pressure change.
O Loosen bolts on one flange, loosen completely when within 3psi of
atmosphere.
O Close As cracker valve before removing flange.
P Check the temperatures of indium and aluminum cells. They should be
on emergency backup power, but if that power were to go out for any
reason, the cells will freeze quickly and shatter their crucibles.
(Backup power is DC, so our clip-on ammeters won't show it even if
it's working. Use a DC voltmeter if you're worried.)

Upon opening:

O Close As valve.
O Turn on N2 gas purge.

When pumping down:

O Open As cracker valve.
O Open each vacsorb slowly to make sure it holds vacuum.
P Turn power back on.
P Turn on ion pumps & ion gauges. Open ion pumps if pressure still<1e-5.

After power is *definitely* back on (*no* chance of another outage):

P Turn the power back on. You have to hit the little black "On" button
on the System 4 breaker box. Then do the same for System 5, which
gets its power from System 4. If it was a brief power outage (like
some fool bumping the Emergency Off button ;-) do this quickly and
you'll save yourself grief.
P Check the temperatures of aluminum and indium. **If they've frozen
solid, don't let them re-melt, or the cells may be destroyed.** Note
that the source material may still be molten even if the thermocouple
reads below melting temperature, because it takes some time to
freeze.
P Push the little red Reset button on the backup power supplies for
indium & aluminum. These are the big blue & white boxes in the
racks with just a fuse, a little red pushbutton, and a couple of
adjustment screws on the front.
P Check the temperatures of the remaining sources. The Eurotherms are
probably going berzerk after #1. You may need to set them to a small
amount of manual power until the temperature settles down. But
usually they'll be okay.
P Turn on the ion gauges.
P Check the cryo pump temperatures. If they're okay, open the cryo gate
valves.
P Recalibrate the As valve controller. (Turn the System 4 arsenic valve
clockwise into the machine a couple of turns to open it, then hit
"No" when the controller asks if you want to calibrate it manually.
It will close the valve automatically. Repeat for System 5.)
P Set the arsenic valve controller and CBr to Remote.
P Watch for signs of leaks, both inside and outside the chamber. The
cooling water pipes have an unfortunate tendency to leak when the
temperature is cycled through them. But don't panic--it might just
be ice which has melted and is running out from the insulation.
P Check any other instruments which may need to be turned on, or which
may have lost their settings.
P Reopen the vacuum valves on the liquid nitrogen diffusion pumps in
the back hallway.

Day after:

O Leak check.
O Slide pieces of insulation over water lines (before mounting wagon wheel).
PO Reconnect power & water to sources.
PO Heat sources slowly to 200C except Al (150), As (100?), Sb (100?),

keeping pressure below or near 1 to 2E-7.