Pulsed power projects within the national ignition facility

Abstract

The National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world's most energetic laser, focuses 192 laser beams onto a pea-sized target inside a 10-meter diameter target chamber. While relying on its three major pulsed power systems to generate more than 1.8 MJ of UV light, NIF benefits from several other pulsed power applications, ranging from the low power front end of the laser to diagnostics for a broad spectrum of physics experiments. In this paper, we will discuss our recent development efforts and provide a projection into the future of the NIF pulsed power projects, including a diode-pumped Nd: glass amplifier, an RF tool for monitoring the health of the amplifier capacitor banks and ongoing solid-state pulser development that allows reliable triple pulsing of the Plasma Electrode Pockels Cell (PEPC). We will also describe developments that may contribute to the success of the future physics experiments including the design of a pulsed power system that will provide a uniform 30–50 T magnetic field at the target, and a fast, gated cathode for streak cameras, permitting significant reduction in the effects of background light.