![]() ![]() The 192 beams proceed to two 10-story switchyards on either side of the Target Chamber where they are split into quads of 2×2 arrays by a series of transport mirrors (see Beam Transport). They take the nanojoule-level laser light from the master oscillator, amplifiy it more than a billion times, and set its spatial profile before injecting it into the main laser beampath. NIF’s preamplifier modules are unique and complex lasers in themselves. By now, the beams’ total energy has grown from 1 billionth of a joule to 4 million joules-all in a few millionths of a second. In the main amplifier, a special optical switch called a plasma electrode Pockels cell (PEPC) traps the light, forcing it to travel back and forth four times, while special deformable mirrors, spatial filters, and other devices ensure the beams are high quality, uniform, and smooth (see The Seven Wonders of NIF).įrom the main amplifier, the beam makes a final pass through the power amplifier. Guided by laser mirrors (LMs 1, 2, and 3), each beam zooms through two large glass amplifiers, first through the power amplifier and then into the main amplifier. ![]() The 48 beams are then split into four beams each for injection into the 192 main laser amplifier beamlines. At the outset of a NIF experiment, a weak laser pulse-about 1 billionth of a joule-is created, split, and carried on optical fibers to 48 preamplifiers that increase the pulse’s energy by a factor of 10 billion, to a few joules. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |