The United States of America as Represented by the United States

Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC

Richard H Sawicki

William C Sweatt

Edward Ira Moses

Andrew James Bayramian

Richard G Morton

Robert J Deri

Robin R Miles

Jeffery F Latkowski

Terry W Alger

Alvin Charles Erlandson

Kenneth Rene Manes

Mary Louis Spaeth

Jerome P Hall

Thomas P Daly

Vaughn G Draggoo

Ralph W Patterson, Jr

Peter A Amendt

Anthony Michael Dunne

Raymond G Finucane

Horst D Bissinger

Thomas M Anklam

An architecture for an inertial confinement fusion system is disclosed. The system includes a fusion chamber for producing neutrons from a fusion reaction, and a laser system in which lasers are arranged about a vacuum chamber to provide energy to the fusion chamber to initiate the fusion reaction. The beam paths between the lasers and the fusion chamber are configured to prevent neutrons from the fusion chamber from reaching the laser system at a level that would preclude human access to the laser system.

Inertial confinement fusion system which decouples life-limited component from plant availability

A technique for adjustably correcting for aberrations in a light beam is disclosed herein. This technique utilizes first means which defines a flat, circular light reflecting surface having opposite reinforced circumferential edges and a central post and which is resiliently distortable, to a limited extent, into different concave and/or convex curvatures, which may be Gaussian-like, about the central axis, and second means acting on the first means for adjustably distorting the light reflecting surface into a particular selected one of the different curvatures depending upon the aberrations to be corrected for and for fixedly maintaining the curvature selected. In the embodiment disclosed, the light reflecting surface is adjustably distorted into the selected curvature by application of particular axial moments to the central post on the opposite side from the light reflecting surface and lateral moments to the circumference of the reflecting surface.

Apparatus for and method of correcting for aberrations in a light beam

A high temperature laser assembly capable of withstanding operating temperatures in excess of 1500.degree. C. is described comprising a segmented cylindrical ceramic lasing tube having a plurality of cylindrical ceramic lasing tube segments of the same inner and outer diameters non-rigidly joined together in axial alignment; insulation of uniform thickness surround the walls of the ceramic lasing tube; a ceramic casing, preferably of quartz, surrounding the insulation; and a fluid cooled metal jacket surrounds the ceramic casing. In a preferred embodiment, the inner surface of each of the ceramic lasing tube segments are provided with a pair of oppositely spaced grooves in the wall thereof parallel to the center axis of the segmented cylindrical ceramic lasing tube, and both of the grooves and the center axis of the segmented cylindrical ceramic lasing tube lie in a common plane, with the grooves in each ceramic lasing tube segment in circumferential alignment with the grooves in the adjoining ceramic lasing tube segments; and one or more ceramic plates, all lying in a common plane to one another and with the central axis of the segmented ceramic lasing tube, are received in the grooves to provide additional wall area in the segmented ceramic lasing tube for collision and return to ground state of metastable metal atoms within the segmented ceramic lasing tube.

Segmented lasing tube for high temperature laser assembly

An improved laser correction mirror (10) for correcting aberrations in a laser beam wavefront having a rectangular mirror body (12) with a plurality of legs (14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28) arranged into opposing pairs (34, 36, 38, 40) along the long sides (30, 32) of the mirror body (12). Vector force pairs (49, 50, 52, 54) are applied by adjustment mechanisms (42, 44, 46, 48) between members of the opposing pairs (34, 36, 38, 40) for bending a reflective surface 13 of the mirror body 12 into a shape defining a function which can be used to correct for comatic aberrations.

Laser correcting mirror

A method for formatting a laser beam pulse (20) using one or more delay loops (10). The delay loops (10) have a partially reflective beam splitter (12) and a plurality of highly reflective mirrors (14) arranged such that the laser beam pulse (20) enters into the delay loop (10) through the beam splitter (12) and circulates therein along a delay loop length (24) defined by the mirrors (14). As the laser beam pulse (20) circulates within the delay loop (10) a portion thereof is emitted upon each completed circuit when the laser beam pulse (20) strikes the beam splitter (12). The laser beam pulse (20) is thereby formatted into a plurality of sub-pulses (50, 52, 54 and 56). The delay loops (10) are used in combination to produce complex waveforms by combining the sub-pulses (50, 52, 54 and 56) using additive waveform synthesis.

Laser beam pulse formatting method

The system of the present invention contemplates a non-intrusive method for measuring the temperature rise of optical elements under high laser power optical loading to determine the absorption coefficient. The method comprises irradiating the optical element with a high average power laser beam, viewing the optical element with an infrared camera to determine the temperature across the optical element and calculating the absorption of the optical element from the temperature.

Optical absorption measurement system

A light reflecting apparatus including a multi-aberration bendable light reflecting surface is disclosed herein. This apparatus includes a structural assembly comprised of a rectangular plate which is resiliently bendable, to a limited extent, and which has a front side defining the multi-aberration light reflecting surface and an opposite back side, and a plurality of straight leg members rigidly connected with the back side of the plate and extending rearwardly therefrom. The apparatus also includes a number of different adjustment mechanisms, each of which is connected with specific ones of the leg members. These mechanisms are adjustably movable in different ways for applying corresponding forces to the leg members in order to bend the rectangular plate and light reflecting surface into different predetermined curvatures and which specifically include quadratic and cubic curvatures corresponding to different optical aberrations.

Light reflecting apparatus including a multi-aberration light reflecting

A technique for adjustably correcting for astigmatism in a light beam is disclosed herein. This technique utilizes first means which defines a flat, rectangular light reflecting surface having opposite reinforced side edges and which is resiliently bendable, to a limited extent, into different concave and/or convex cylindrical curvatures about a particular axis and second means acting on the first means for adjustably bending the light reflecting surface into a particular selected one of the different curvatures depending upon the astigmatism to be corrected for and for fixedly maintaining the curvature selected. In the embodiment disclosed, the light reflecting surface is adjustably bendable into the selected cylindrical curvature by application of a particular bending moment to the reinforced side edges of the light reflecting surface.

Growing community of inventors

Danville, CA, United States of America

Richard H Sawicki