Photo Gallery

Active Target Aids Beam Alignment

Cryogenic Systems Operator JoJo Cuenca takes a quality-control photo of the energized active target after its installation in a NIF target positioner. The active target consists of two reference CCD (charge-coupled device) video chips to acquire absolute beam positions on the target after alignment in the target alignment sensor. The CCDs contain the fiducials, or reference points, and the red illumination is used during alignment in the Control Room. Credit: James Pryatel

Additive Manufacturing Reveals New Physics

Ibo Matthews inspects an in situ diagnostics test bench his team developed for studying laser-driven powder bed fusion additive manufacturing. High-speed thermal and optical mapping of the laser-powder interaction has enabled the team to reveal new physics associated with the process and help guide high-performance computing simulations (see “3D Printing Could Revolutionize Laser Development”¹). Credit: Julie Russell.

Adiabat-Shaping Target

The target used in a three-shock adiabat-shaping experiment. A series of adiabat-shaping experiments demonstrated that ablation front instability growth can be managed while simultaneously achieving high areal density, a necessary requirement for inertial confinement fusion ignition (see “‘Adiabat-shaped’ Pulse Design Improves NIF Implosions”¹).

Advanced Radiographic Capability

The Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC), a petawatt-class laser system to be used to diagnose NIF implosions, under construction in the NIF Target Bay.

Aligning KBO Mirrors

An OCMM (optical coordinate measurement machine) operator aligns the Kirkpatrick Baez reflective x-ray imaging optic (KBO) in Bldg. 321. The KBO is used to obtain improved high-resolution images of the “hot spots” at the center of target capsules during NIF inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. The image shows the mirrors being aligned to the accuracy of about two microns. The alignment entails extensive attention to detail requiring almost five days of effort (see “Promising New X-Ray Microscope Poses Logistics Challenges”¹). Credit: James Pryatel

Aligning the Target Positioners

NIF operators acquired simultaneous positioning stability for all three NIF target positioners—the TarPos, the cryogenic TarPos, and the dual-purpose Target and Diagnostic Manipulator (TANDM)—in the Target Alignment Sensor (TAS) during the December 2016 facility maintenance and reconfiguration (FM&R) period. This marked the first time three targets were simultaneously tested in the TAS, which is used to align NIF beams and targets to a common referenced coordinate system. The test was among nearly 360 tasks performed over the two-week FM&R period.

Aligning the VISAR

In the NIF Control Room, operators align the Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflector (VISAR) diagnostic inside a target. VISAR was developed by Sandia National Laboratories scientists to study the motion of samples driven by shocks and other kinds of dynamic pressure loading. It has become a standard measurement tool in many areas where dynamic pressure loading is applied to materials (see “Measuring NIF’s Enormous Shocks”¹). Credit: James Pryatel

Appolon Diffraction Gratings

Diffraction gratings fabricated by NIF & Photon Science for the 10-petawatt Appolon laser in France.

ARC Diagnostics

The Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC), a petawatt-class quad of beams in NIF, will generate short bursts of X-rays to backlight high-density ICF targets and other HED experiments.

ARC Parabola Vessel

Jeremy Huckins, JB McLeod, and Ed Howe monitor the successful insertion of AM6 transport mirrors in the 11-foot-high Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC) Parabola Vessel. The Parabola Vessel focuses ARC’s quadrillion-watt beams on a backlighter target near Target Chamber center to produce an x-ray “movie” to diagnose NIF target implosions with tens-of-picoseconds resolution (see NIF Petawatt Laser is on Track to Completion¹).

ARC X-ray Imaging System

Technician Tim Cunningham prepares the Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC) X-ray Imaging System (AXIS) diagnostic snout for its first data shot on March 1, 2016. AXIS is a dual-axis x-ray camera designed to acquire two high-resolution Compton radiographs during a single NIF shot. Compton radiography is an important diagnostic for inertial confinement fusion (ICF), as it provides a means to measure the density and asymmetries of the deuterium-tritium fuel in an ICF capsule near the time of peak compression (see “Testing NIF’s Dual-Axis Imager”¹). Credit: James Pryatel

Argus Laser Bay

The two-beam Argus laser came online In 1976. Use of Argus increased knowledge about laser propagation limits and helped LLNL Laser Program researchers develop technologies needed for the next generation of laser fusion systems.

Argus Target Chamber

With the Argus laser, LLNL researchers proved the scalability of neodymium glass fusion lasers, setting the stage for further developments in the decades ahead.

ARIANE X-ray Detector Update

NIF Target Area workers celebrate the successful installation of a new gate valve for the ARIANE gated x-ray detector. ARIANE (active readout in a neutron environment) measures x-ray output at yields up to about 10¹⁶ (one quadrillion) neutrons from Target Chamber Center. ARIANE uses gated microchannel plate technology adapted to operate in this neutron regime by moving the detector to a position just outside the Target Chamber wall. The new valve will enable ARIANE to collect unprecedented high-quality penumbral (partial illumination) data by increasing the signal by about 20 times from previous penumbral imaging diagnostic setups. This is an important step towards spatially resolved hot-spot electron temperature measurements on the NIF.

Assuring Target Quality

Cryogenic Systems Operator Eric Mertens takes a pre-installation quality-assurance photo of the keyhole target for a cryogenic equation-of-state (CryoEOS) experiment for the NIF Discovery Science program. The CryoEOS shot measured the optical properties of deuterium along a reverberation compression path to three megabars (three million Earth atmospheres). Credit: James Pryatel

Attaching a Target

In the Bldg. 381 target fabrication facility, technician Rob Cahayag mounts a keyhole shock-timing target on a stalk that attaches the target to the Ignition Target Inserter and Cryostat (I-TIC). The I-TIC is attached to the end of the target positioner and cools the target and deuterium-tritium fuel mixture to meet temperature and uniformity requirements.

Beryllium Capsule

A copper-doped beryllium capsule in a hohlraum target used in a convergent ablator experiment for Los Alamos National Laboratory’s inertial confinement fusion program. The shot’s goal was to measure laser-plasma interactions, the implosion velocity of the capsule, and drive symmetry in a larger gold hohlraum with lower fill gas pressure compared to previous shots. A copper backlighter was used to radiograph the capsule during its implosion.

Beryllium Target

The first NIF experiment using a target capsule composed of beryllium was conducted on Aug. 29-30, 2014. The photo shows the beryllium capsule in the hohlraum of a keyhole shock-timing target. Spearheaded by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) team, this was the first shot in the development of beryllium capsules (ablators), which has been in the works at LLNL and LANL for more than a decade. ICF researchers believe beryllium could significantly improve NIF’s experimental margin for ignition (see “NIF Tests Two New Target Designs”¹).

Big Foot Target Shot

This colorized image of a NIF “Big Foot” deuterium-tritium (DT) implosion was taken on Feb. 7, 2016. The open target shroud, the ablation of a magnetic recoil neutron spectrometer foil holder, and the neutron imaging system nose cone can be seen at 9:00. The hardened gated x-ray imaging diagnostics are at 12:00 and 3:00. This shot was the Inertial Confinement Fusion program’s first layered DT fusion implosion using the Big Foot strategy in a sub-scale diamond ablator. This design uses a shortened three-shock pulse and a thinner DT ice layer that puts the fuel and the diamond ablator on a higher adiabat (internal capsule energy) than previous designs. The 5.75-millimeter diameter hohlraum used a low gas fill (0.3 mg/cc) to limit laser-plasma instability and cross-beam energy transfer. Credit: Don Jedlovec.

Checking Shot Results

In the NIF Control Room, Target Area Coordinator Rodrigo Miramontes-Ortiz (left) and Beam Control Operator Robert Blanton examine the shot data following NIF’s 300th shot in Fiscal Year 2015. The shot was one of a series of polar direct-drive shots to operationally qualify a new continuous phase plate (beam-smoothing optic) design (see “Shaping NIF’s Beams for Direct-Drive Experiments”¹). Credit: Jason Laurea

Checking Target Vibration Response

Cryogenic Systems Operator John Mourelatos performs a quality-control check of a NIF target’s vibration response during closure of the cryogenic target positioner’s protective shroud in preparation for a wetted-foam liquid deuterium-tritium experiment (see “Solving the Challenges of Making Liquid-Hydrogen Targets”¹). Credit: James Pryatel.

Cleaning the Roving Mirror Diagnostic Enclosure

Transport & Handling’s Paul Bonifacio uses a polyester cleanroom tool called an “Alpha mop” to precision-wipe the interior of a Roving Mirror Diagnostic Enclosure (RMDE) during the June 2016 Facility Maintenance and Reconfiguration period. Replacement of the RMDE roving calorimeters is followed by cleanliness sampling for particles and organics. Test shots fired to the RMDE calorimeters can assess many aspects of NIF performance. Credit: Gerardo Gutierrez

Collisionless Shock Target

A target used for Discovery Science collisionless shock experiments on NIF. The target consists of two opposed nickel/iron-doped deuterated plastic discs; plasma from the discs is accelerated by 28 NIF beams each to counterpropagate and interact at high velocity. The green plastic caps are unconverted light shields. Collisionless shocks are responsible for the properties of many astrophysical phenomena including supernova remnants, gamma-ray bursts, jets from active galactic nuclei, and cosmic ray acceleration (see “International Team Conducts First Collisionless Shock Experiment on NIF”¹).
 

Commissioning the ATLAS Alignment System

In the Target Alignment System (TAS) Calibration Lab, TAS Manager Edwin Casco uses collimated light from an eye-safe lamp to verify alignment and clearances inside the new target alignment system TAS4. The new system was designed to operate with the NIF Advanced Tracking Laser Alignment System (ATLAS) (see ATLAS Laser Tracking System Will Speed NIF Alignment.¹) The red light is from light-emitting diodes used to illuminate NIF targets during alignment. Credit: James Pryatel

Compton Radiography Target

A subscale (eight-tenths normal size) diamond target for Compton radiography experiments, with backlighter flags and shields to protect the target from unconverted light. The experiment is designed to take Compton radiographs of the imploding shell in a near-vacuum hohlraum close to the point of peak compression. Compton radiography uses Compton scattering, in which photons interact with electrons, to image the dense cold fuel surrounding the hot spot in a NIF implosion.

Control Room Countdown

LLNL researchers and collaborators from Los Alamos National Laboratory prepare for an experiment. Every aspect of a NIF shot is checked and monitored in NIF’s NASA-style Control Room. Credit: Damien Jemison

Conventional Facility Completed

The $196-million NIF conventional facility was completed on September 28, 2001. This included the concrete foundations and floor slabs for the switchyards and Target Bay and the foundations for the laser building; the Optics Assembly Building and the structural steel shell, metal skin and roof of the laser building; the interior of the laser building with mechanical and electrical utilities and the central plant (which includes boilers, chillers and cooling towers); and the target area building envelope, mechanical and electrical utilities and the architectural finishes.

Crystal Conditioning

An offline crystal conditioning capability helps to reduce the impact of crystal exchanges on NIF operations.

Deformable Mirrors

Deformable mirrors, located at the ends of the NIF main amplifiers, use an array of 39 actuators to create a movable surface that corrects aberrations in a beam due to minute distortions in the optics.

Designing a NIF Hohlraum

Target design manager Carolyn Vargas and designer Scott Vonhof review the design of a 6.72-millimeter-diameter NIF hohlraum. The larger hohlraum was used in a high-density carbon (diamond) capsule shock-timing experiment to reduce the effects of plasma filling.

Disposable Debris Shields

NIF uses low-cost, disposable debris shields as the final optics in the beamline to protect the main debris shields from debris and contamination. NIF’s supplier, SCHOTT North America, has delivered more than 20,000 disposable debris shields for NIF experiments.

Double Backlighter Target

A double backlighter target, the first of its kind, was successfully designed, fabricated, and shot. This will allow NIF to double the data obtained from NIF’s Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC) laser system backlighter experiments. The target uses two backlighters and a precise separation of the ARC beams in both time and space to obtain two separate time-resolved radiographs of a target. Several developmental shots are planned to fine-tune the technology before it will be incorporated into a high energy density Complex Hydrodynamics Campaign. The target will also reduce the required number of targets, which take up to four months to machine and assemble.