Reassembling the cathode

After the two-week experimental period at the Tsue-Nakasuka Lab, I was finally able to put the cathode back into the vacuum chamber today.

The cathode had been stored outside the chamber for two weeks because the chamber was being used for PMMA combustion experiments. During this time, I kept the cathode in an argon-filled Ziploc bag to protect it from oxidation.

The video below shows a timelapse of the reassembly. The connections were made under a continuous 20 SCCM argon flow to minimize exposure to air. After reassembly, I checked the Swagelok fittings for leaks using Snoop leak detector. Once everything was confirmed to be leak-tight, I closed the chamber and pumped it down to below 1 Torr for storage.

This means the cathode is now safely back in the chamber and ready for the next experiment!