Reports until 19:11, Tuesday 13 November 2018
H1 IOO (IOO, PSL)
cheryl.vorvick@LIGO.ORG - posted 19:11, Tuesday 13 November 2018 (45265)
IO optic inspection identifies L1 as having areas of contamination or damage to the coating

I inspected the optics in the IO path on the PSL, and discovered that L1, the first lens after the EOM, has one easily identifiable area on the surface near the EOM, and two easily identifiable areas on the surface away from the EOM, that are contamination/damage to the coating.  Two areas are at or close to the center of the optic, the other area is about 1/8th of the optic that is covered in what looks like a thick film.

The first three images attached are of L1:

  1. L1, looking toward the EOM, this is the "filmed" area, it's on the surface that's closer to the camera, with a reflection from the other side of the lens.  There are circular marks through the film and this looks like someone used a wipe to clean the optic, possibly for dust, and happened to clean off a bit of film.  The film was only visible to me with the flashlight.
  2. L1, looking toward the EOM, and the "filmed" area is on the left side, there's a large bright white spot and reflections that are from the flashlight above the filmed area, and to the right there is a small area of contamination/damage that looks somewhat like a ring.  This is on the surface that's closer to the camera, and it's close to the center of the lens.
  3. L1, looking toward the EOM, showing the contamination/damage that's on the surface that's closer to the EOM, on the EOM side of the lens.  This is feature has very clear edges, and is close to the center of the optic.

With L1 being very close to the EOM output, I was not able to see the output face of the EOM crystal, so this still needs ot be inspected, and the best opportunity to do this is when L1 is replaced.  The EOM crystal surface sits within a few mm of housing aperture, so it can be seen through the EOM housing.

The last two images attached are of the EOM output aperture and crystal:

  1. the EOM output aperture from the -Y side of the PSL table, where the output aperture faces in the +X direction.  This image shows the crystal without IR light, so the crystal is seen through the EOM housing and is dark, and at this viewing angle, the right front edge of the crystal face is visible.
  2. the EOM output aperture from the -Y side of the PSL table, where the output aperture faces in the +X direction.  This image is from a similar viewing angle with IR light, taken with an IR sensitive camera, and there's a back reflection from L1 that is clipping on the EOM housing, and through the aperture, the right front edge of the EOM crystal is seen as a vertical line, which matches it's location in the first image.

I talked to Daniel, and he saw the images, and we talked about replacing this lens after recovering the IMC, so next week or later, and before O3.

Images attached to this report