[Marc, Shalika]

We followed the wiki procedure to relock MZ and GRMC.

First, we tuned the HPD bias to minimize the MZ reflection.

In this configuration we now have MZ incident power 200 mW, reflected power 8mW and transmitted power 180 mW (MZ offset is 4.2V).

We locked the GRMC and measurement transmitted power 105mW.

Then, we had to reduce the gain of both MZ and GRMC servo to 2 to lock the 2 cavities).

[Marc, Shalika]

We relocked SHG without issue.

We changed the HPD bias of MZ from 3.4V to 6.2V to minimize the reflected power (now looking like some 4th order mode).

We tuned a bit the steering mirror just after the MZ to maximize GRMC transmission.

We blocked  one arm of the MZ and realigned the beam into the GRMC with the previous steering mirror and one mirror of the MZ.

Then, we blocked the other arm of the MZ and realigned this path with the other MZ mirror.

We minimized the polarization peak by rotating the HWP before the MZ from 218.5 deg to 219.5 deg.

We measured the mode-matching of arm 1 and 2 to be 81.9% and 86.1%, respectively.

We modified DDS2 config so that DAC 0,1,2 provide 88.3 MHz.

We tuned the phase of DAC 2 (GRMC demod) from 125 deg to 165 deg to recover the expected error signal shape. The peak to peak value is about 114mV while it was 10 times larger in the past.

Then, we were able to lock GRMC.

However, we had some issues to lock the MZ : when we connect the servo out of MZ to the HPD of MZ we can hear some sound and clear misalignment..

Related curves will be uploaded soon

It can be seen in elog 3127 that our polarization camera can only measure polarization ellipticity or retardance between -pi/4 to pi/4.

However, our LC should be able to provide larger retardance meaning that we have to unwrap our retardance measurement.

To reproduce the LC datasheet, we can use the following procedure :

- find the max and min of retardance

- invert all values above the min

- add 90 deg to values below the max (plus a small offset maybe because our LC are uncompensated, here it is -7 deg)

- shift the value below the max compare to the max value using retardance := 2 * retardance_max - retardance

The results for the measurement with various LC temperature is in fig 1.

While the shape and the behavior (smaller retardance with larger temperature) seems correct, we only have about half of the retardance measured by Thorlabs..

[Marc, Michael, Shalika]

We installed the power meter in reflection of the IRMC.

We scanned the IRMC and found about 90% mode-matching. By just acting on the last steering mirror before the PBS, we could recover 97% mode-matching (see fig 1 and 2 for zoom on HOM).

The remaining HOM might be due to the beam size change induced by the new EOM + longer optical path to recover the tilt induced by the EOM wedge.

Then, we tried to lock the IRMC but most of the time we locked on this HOM.

We had a look at the error signal and it was not great (fig 3) so we tuned the phase of DDS1 DAC0 ie the phase of EOM for SHG/IRMC to 120 deg.

By reducing by 90deg we got a reasonable error signal (fig 4).

On the other hand, this gave a bad error signal for SHG (fig 5) which is recovered with phase of 120 deg (fig 6)

The reason could be that all cables from DDS were disconnected so we might have reconnected cables with incorrect length.

To compensate for that we need to add a cable with length : c/fEOM*90/360 ie about 85 cm.

[Marc, Michael, Shalika, Yuhang]

First we changed the DDS1 DAC0 and 1 frequency from 88 to 88.3 MHz (resonant freq of the EOM).

Then, we installed a powermeter in transmission of the SHG (as in elog 3091).

We scanned the SHG and tuned its alignment. In the end, we achieved about 91% mode-matching.

Then, we locked the SHG on TEM00 and monitored the reflected green power after the FI as a function of SHG temperature (see fig2).

The optimal temperature is now 3.16 kOhm which gives us about 280mW of green power.

We did same power budget as in elog 3091 :

Incident IR (measured before dichroic): 685 mW
Reflected green (measured before FI): 288 mW
Reflected IR (measured before ND2 on photodetector): 144 mW.

This gives us a slightly better SHG efficiency at around 40.2%.

It seems that we recovered the usual situation.

Last step for SHG is to install a PD in transmission to have the automatic lock of the servo working.

[Marc, Shalika]

While we still have issues to characterize a single LC, we tried to check how much of the polarization state space can we cover with 2 LCs.

The first one is installed with its fast axis rotated by 45deg while the second one is at 0 deg.

The first LC voltage step size was 0.5s while the second one was 0.6s.

The attached figure shows the ellipticity / azimuth angles parameters space obtained with the camera.

In theory, we should be able to fully cover this parameter space but due to the issue at low voltage with our LCs we can not.

Nevertheless, it might be enough to perform birefringence measurement.

[Marc, Shalika]

We are trying to understand why the retardance we measure after one LC as a function of its driving voltage does not match Thorlabs characterization.

First we checked on oscilloscope the output of the KLC101 cube controller. We got the expected result ie 0V DC and a square wave which amplitude/frequency could be ajusted as we like.

Then, we measured the azimuth and allipticity with our camera after one LC and incident light s-polarized.

Figure 1 shows these parameters while rotating the fast axis of the LC with respect to the input polarization orientation.

Figure 2 shows these parameters while increasing the temperature of the LC.

It seems we still have the same discrepancy..

[Marc, Michael, Shalika]

We reconnected all electronics of DDS1 and 2.

We are preparing a summary document that we will upload to the wiki.

We restarted the various rack electronics and laser and could directly see green flashes.

We changed the DDS1 DAC 0 and 1 frequency to 88 MHz for the SHG lock.

We could relock SHG but reflected green power seems too low (~10mW while it was ~240mW before in elog 3091).

We will install a power meter in transmission of SHG to check mode-matching.

Also, it seems that we might have some clipping (maybe at green FI) that needs to be investigated.

This elog is about issues with setting up the RF switch in the attempt of improving ringdown. 

Details:

1. After I installed the RF switch (The output of the RF driver was fed as input to the switch. The output of the switch was fed to AOM), the PD at the transmitted beam was not able to detect any power or modes during the laser scan. I checked the diffraction efficiency of AOM after RF switch installation and saw that it dropped from 40% to 7%, and as a result, the transmitted beam power was affected too. 

2. To check the above issue and confirm that it happened only after the RF switch installation, I removed the RF switch and checked the diffraction efficiency again, and it was back to 40%. The PD at the transmitted beam also could see the modes during the laser scan, and lock normally. 

3. I didn't change any scale for observing the transmitted beam in an oscilloscope or PD settings, after the installation of the RF switch. For now, I don't know how to resolve the issue. 

The observations made during this are as below:

4. The RF switch was kept on the table and because of touching the plastic surface, it showed an excess voltage (19 Vp-p). (Fig 1)

5. I removed the RF switch and now it doesn't touch anything now, the voltage observed is now 3.68 Vp-p (Fig 2). Although Fig 2 is from an oscilloscope of 1MOhm, the distorted signal is also observed in a 50Ohm oscilloscope (Fig 3). 

6. The response of the RF switch when I make the TTL 5V (The Out1 shuts down when I make TTL 5V(or >2V) (Fig 4). 

Next Step:

1. Look for the specifications of the RF switch

2. Analyse the signal from the RF driver to understand distortions in Fig 2 or 3.

Marc, Michael

We checked again DDS3 outputs.

CH0 after amplifier provide the expected 6dBm but CH1, CH2 and CH3 still provide -40dBm after amplifiers while their output directly from the board is at -8.5dBm.

We removed connectors, swapped cables but still had this issue. We suspect that these 3 amplifiers are broken.

We will purchase new ones and use in the meantime the amplifier rack.

Marc, Michael

We restarted standalone and realigned the readout part of every oplevs.

Then, we could perform the healthcheck without issues.

All coils excitation show some good coherence with the oplev so it seems that the magnets are still present and working properly.

[Shalika, Marc-san]

This elog covers details of the ongoing tests of the LC. 

Details:

In the previous test, the fast axis of LC was at 90°. We saw a drift from the expected characteristic for <10V. Although the LC behaves as expected at >10V. 

We changed the orientation of the fast axis was changed to ~45°(Fig 1) to understand if this issue continues. 

a. The LC voltage controller's RMS voltage was varied from 0.1V to 25 V and was swept with a step size of 0.1V and step duration of 2s. 

b. The LC temperature was observed to be fairly constant at 25±0.04ºC and is shown in Fig 2. 

c. The Normalized Stokes Parameter was observed as shown in Fig.3

d. The Ellipiticty and Azimuth varying with varying voltage were observed as shown in Fig.4 and Fig 5 respectively. 

e. The calculated retardance is shown in Fig 6. 

e. The laser power observed using the camera is shown in Fig. 7.

Next Step:

Try to understand why at low voltages(<10V) the LC drifts from its expected characteristics. We might have incorrectly set some parameters of LC when using the LC voltage or temperature controller. 

[Shalika, Mitsuhashi-san]

This elog is about connecting the RF switch (Fig 1). In continuation to the experiment in elog, we realized that an RF switch is essential for the ringdown measurement. 

Details:

1. We first made sure that we had the correct supply of +5V and -5V using a multimeter. 

2. We then supplied a square wave of frequency 1Hz and 3 V amplitude to the TTL, using a function generator. The square wave signal was ensured with the use of an oscilloscope.

3. The analog input which was previously supplied to the RF driver (for AOM) was connected to the input of the RF switch. 

4. The output of the RF switch when the input is switched off is shown in Fig 2. 

Next Step:

1. Toggle the voltage of TTL for better shutdown for AOM. 

2. Connect the output of the RF switch to the RF driver of AOM. 

3. We test the response of photodiodes and select the better one for ringdown measurement. 

[Shalika, Mitsuhashi-san]

In continuation to the ongoing ringdown measurement, this elog covers tests of the photodiode to be used at the transmitted beam path. We suspect that the ringdown measurement is not accurate because of absence of RF switch and an unsuitable PD. 

We tested the decay time of two PDs after shutting down the AOM. 

1. PDA20CS-EC --(this is the one that was initially installed. We suspect we should change this with PD in 2)

a. The decay time for the 20dB gain setting is 0.4 µs (Fig. 1)

b. The decay time for the 30dB gain setting is 0.4 µs (Fig. 2)

2. PDA05CF2

a. The decay time (oscilloscope time scale as 1µs) is 0.8 µs (Fig. 3)

a. The decay time (oscilloscope time scale as 500 ns) is 0.8 µs (Fig. 4)

It seems this is very close to the previous ringdown time estimated by us (0.9 µs) and the above-measured time is not accurate for both PDs. We realize it might be happening because we don't have an RF switch installed yet.

Next Step:

We will install the RF switch between the RF driver and AOM, and observe the PD responses again. 

Notes:

1. We brought RF switch from ATC clean room to ATC cryogenic room, today. 

2. I have brought a mulitmeter from electrical shop to ATC. 

This elog covers the testing of Liquid crystal(from here on referred to as LC) (LC1111T-C). In continuation to ongoing work in elog.

1. Observing changes in the linearly polarized laser passing through LC with change in voltage of the LC controller. 

2. Testing stability of measurements for long-term measurement (6 hours in this study)

Details:

1. The setup is shown in Fig 1. The HWP and QWP placed were rotated such that the laser was linearly polarized. This was made sure with the use of the polarization camera. Then the LC was placed after them and the fast axis was rotated manually to make the laser linearly polarized again(see Fig 2, the white line on LC shows the slow axis). The LC was connected to the LC voltage controller and temperature controller. The LC expected characteristics from the datasheet are shown in Fig 3 and 4.  

a. The LC voltage controller's voltage was varied from 0 to 25 V and was swept with a step size of 0.1V and step duration of 2s. 

b. The temperature was observed to be fairly constant at 22.58±0.02ºC 

c. The Normalized Stokes Parameter was observed as shown in Fig.5

d. The Ellipiticty and Azimuth varying with varying voltage were observed as shown in Fig.5 and Fig 7 respectively. 

e. The laser power observed using the camera is shown in Fig. 8. 

2. Since mirror characterization takes long hours we had to check if the LC would be durable for long operational hours. To study this, another measurement was taken for 6 hrs. In this case, no parameters were varied. 

a. The LC voltage controller's voltage was set constant at 0V. 

b. The temperature of the LC during the operation was 22.58ºC±0.3 and was fairly stable for 6hrs (varied from 22.58ºC(at the start), 22.83ºC( at 2.5hrs) to 22.49ºC(at the end))

c. The Normalized Stokes Parameter was observed as shown in Fig.9

d. The Ellipiticty and Azimuth varying with varying voltage were observed as shown in Fig.12 and Fig 13 respectively. 

e. The laser power observed using the camera is shown in Fig. 14. 

Although the parametres are seen to be constant enough during LTM, we will do this measurement again to investigate the peak observed in the ellipticity and azimuth since they appear at the same time. The same peak was also observed in stokes parameters S2 and S3(Fig 10,11). Interestingly, no such peak was observed in the laser power. It would be worth keeping an eye on the LC temperature for this.  

Next Step:

1. 6hrs operation test with LC controller's voltage set at >0V. 

2. Observe the temperature variation of the LC

For the PR I remembered that I should try and realign using the picomotors to bring the oplev output beam to within the actuation range of the steering mirror. This is actually a common problem but because I am not so good independently operating FC I forgot, so others not so familiar with FC operation who are reading this should also take note.

For the health check, I looked at the terminal logs (fig 1) and it seems that there is a test timeout error on every measurement of the coils. What that means is that the program starts at coil PR_H1, sets up the frequency range to be iterated, then tries to measure the first frequency point but fails some sort of supervisory check in this measurement. Then, it aborts the opration but also says the data is saved into the file PR_H1 located in /Desktop/TAMA_VIS/check_after_earthquake. After that, it moves on to the next coil, PR_H2, and does the same thing for all 16 coils on PR, BS, IN, END. So, in short, it looks like the health check script isn't taking any data.

I tried deleting some of the data in /frames/full on the standalone PC but it took a really long time. I pressed Ctrl+C in terminal to stop the operation after about 40 minutes had passed, then checked the disk status with the df command, and it was still at about 76% capacity.

I took a snapshot using the button in the medm VIS overview interface. Then I restarted the standalone PC and pressed restore snapshot in medm VIS. But it seems to have not completely restored things, for example, the file structure seen when using ssh into standalone (fig 2). To be honest, it is not clear to me *exactly* what this snapshot function does, so this problem and procedure should be written down in the GWSP wiki under FC procedure to operate, when I figure it out.

Anyway, I had rebooted the standalone PC and there *should* be sufficient disk space to perform measurements. But I still keep getting the same test timeout error when I run the health check script. Everyone who can help with this problem is on holiday so I will just leave it for now.

Report from last Friday

I tried to do the suspension health check as per the description. The purpose is to excite the mirror coils then check the transfer function to oplev pitch and yaw. If there is no coherence between the input excitation and the output then it is an obvious sign that a magnet has fallen off. However, I ran into some problems:

• The PR oplev is quite off center in pitch. The steering mirror at the output viewport of the PR oplev ran out of actuation when I tried to recenter the PSD. In the medm screen it was about 5000 counts off center. I don't have too much memory of TAMA oplevs so I am wondering if PR oplev pitch is a relatively common issue or not.
• After centering all of the other oplevs, I ran test.sh in the folder /TAMA_VIS/check_after_earthquake. However, the program kept giving test time out errors. I checked the disk space and it was nearly full, so I tried deleting all of the frame data in frames/trend/second and freed up about 25% of disk space. But the problem persisted.

[Mitsuhashi,Shalika]

This elog is about doing ring down measurement, and fit the data

What we did:
When we try to measure the ring down. The pictuere from osiloscope was attached.

The supposed decay time from the picture was around 1μs, and the result of fitting the data show that decay time is 0.9μs.
This value is comparable to time resolution of the photo detector we use now.

What we will do:
We check how the photo detector and AOM works when we shut down a lazer. 
And we will try to reinstall a photo detector that has hight time resolution.