Distributed Feedback Fiber Laser The Heart of the National Ignition Facility
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a world-class laser fusion machine that is currently under construction at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The 192 laser beams that converge on the target at the output of the NIF laser system originate from a low power fiber laser in the Master Oscillator Room (MOR). The MOR is responsible for generating the single pulse that seeds the entire NIF laser system. This single pulse is phase-modulated to add bandwidth, and then amplified and split into 48 separate beam lines all in single-mode polarizing fiber. Before leaving the MOR, each of the 48 output beams are temporally sculpted into high contrast shapes using Arbitrary Waveform Generators. The 48 output beams of the MOR are amplified in the Preamplifier Modules (PAMs), split and amplified again to generate 192 laser beams. The 192 laser beams are frequency converted to the third harmonic and then focused at the center of a 10-meter diameter target chamber. The MOR is an all fiber-based system utilizing highly reliable Telecom-Industry type hardware. The nearly 2,000,000 joules of energy at the output of the NIF laser system starts from a single fiber oscillator that fits in the palm of your hand. This paper describes the design and performance of the laser source that provides the precision light to the National Ignition Facility. Shown below is a simplified diagram illustrating the MOR's basic functions.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 15006276
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-ID-155446; TRN: US200407%%173
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Dec 2003
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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