[time-nuts] COTS cesium standard physics package life

cdelect at juno.com cdelect at juno.com
Thu Sep 29 17:52:33 UTC 2016


Ruslan,

Yes you can conserve tube life my operating in the Cs off mode (for 5061A
and B).
This mode still powers the ion pump and helps maintain the vacuum.
If the tube is exposed to high temperatures for a long period the Cesium
will slowly escape the oven assy. and reduce the life of the tube.
As long as a vacuum is maintained and the tube is not exposed to high
temps you should still get the specified operational life of the tube. 
If the oven is off the life is not reduced.
The main problem of long storage without occasionally powering the ion
pump is that the pressure in the tube can rise above the starting
pressure of the ion pump. 
In this case an external ion pump supply can help, however the pressure
can get great enough that even that won't help!
I usually recommend running in Cs off mode until needed and insure that
once every 3 months you go back to operate and allow the unit to run for
a few hours.

Cheers,

Corby




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