An overview of target and diagnostic alignment at the National Ignition Facility

Abstract

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a 192-beam high energy laser designed for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF), and High Energy Density (HED) and basic science experiments. In order to achieve ignition with an ICF target, the beam and target alignment must be performed within very tight specifications. At the same time, in order to be able to conduct the wide range of HED and basic science experiments, the facility must be able to meet the tight tolerances for both main and offset backlighter beams and targets. To diagnose the ignition event, many different target diagnostics are employed, including optical, x-ray, and nuclear diagnostics. These target diagnostics must also be positioned accurately and reliably within very tight specifications in order to ensure good data is acquired. In this paper, we describe the strategy for beam, target, and diagnostic alignment at NIF.