Polaris is currently being rebuilt following a major upgrade funded by the CCLRC/STFC Facilities Development Fund and the Swedish Vetenskapsrådet Research Council, and with in-kind contributions from The Basque Country, Spain.
Latest News (January 2012)
The upgraded instrument has been installed in the blockhouse; the detectors cabled up to the DAE; and all the ancilliary services and hardware connected. In the last week of ISIS operation before Christmas the beamline shutter was opened, allowing the ISIS Detector Group to check and adjust the operation of the detectors and monitors with ISIS neutrons (rather than using a sealed source).
Finally, in last few hours of cycle 2011/4, data were collected from a silicon powder and vanadium rod, allowing the first powder diffraction pattern to be generated. The diffractometer appears to be working well!
Follow
this link for a picture of the first diffraction patterns collected on the upgraded Polaris
When ISIS running resumes in February the T-zero chopper and beamline collimating jaws will be commissioned. Unfortunately the radial collimator will not be ready until later in the year. If everything goes well, it is hoped to resume the User Programme on Polaris towards the end of cycle 2011/5, in March 2012.
Follow
this link for more information on the Polaris upgrade
Polaris is currently being rebuilt following a major upgrade funded by the CCLRC/STFC Facilities Development Fund and the Swedish Vetenskapsrådet Research Council, and with in-kind contributions from The Basque Country, Spain.
Latest News (November 2011)
At just after 11am on 11th November 2011 the upgraded diffractometer was successfully installed in the Polaris blockhouse by John Carter and the Heavy Gang. This is the culmination of many months of hard work by John Randall and his team of technicians, who built the instrument.
The next few weeks will see the blockhouse air conditioning system reassembled; the final set of (in-tank) collimating jaws installed; vacuum and dry air pipework connected to the main vacuum tank; and the cabling between the detector PMTs and the Data Acquisition Electronics completed (comprising ~1000 cables with a total of ~4000 connectors). Once this is done, commissioning of the beamline and detector testing will commence.
