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4 Technological Readiness
Pages 21-34

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From page 21...
... The NIF baseline design has a laser architecture selected to meet the required performance levels at acceptable cost while respecting the limits imposed by laser fluence damage. Peak fluence from a 4pass amplifier through the optical beam path to the KDP ha~monic-conversion crystal remains below the damage fluence of the optical elements, if they are procured from the highest-quality fabrication.
From page 23...
... Haan et al. "Ignition Target Design for the National Ignition Facility," Inertial Confinement Fusion, UCRL-LR-10582195-4, Vol.
From page 24...
... 1~ :~ it: : :*
From page 25...
... 20 25 Performance, Cost, and Optical Damage With cost strongly dependent on the maximum allowed optical fluence of components along the laser optical beam path, the NIF laser is designed to operate at the maximum fluence consistent with reliability and projected performance. Further, significant efforts have been made to raise the fluencedamage threshold of the optical components, to increase laser performance, and to reduce cost.
From page 26...
... Multipass Amplifier-Booster Amplifier A multipass amplifier using polarization switching and a 4-pass geometry was selected to reduce cost and yet provide the required energy with proper spatial and temporal beam shaping. Further, the amplifier design allows flexibility in the spectral content of the beam (both for SSD and for spectral chirping followed by compression to achieve higher peak power)
From page 27...
... KDP crystals required for the NIF frequency conversion are being grown both by a rapid-growth technique (which has not yet produced crystals meeting the NIF damage threshold requirements) and by the welldeveloped traditional solution growth approach.
From page 28...
... was explored at LLE in ~ 989. Together, these two techniques can control the laser beam at the target, providing a time-integrated smooth beam that reduces plasma instabilities for indirect drive and reduces laser imprinting on the target for direct drive.
From page 29...
... Issues of material-density uniformity also arise, depending on the materials and fabrication methods employed, and are still under study and development.5 Although not all issues have yet been resolved, continuing experiments and simulations are expected to further define fabrication specifications. Given the evolution of the scientific understanding of hydrodynamic instability dynamics and the coupling between drive uniformity and capsule fabrication specifications, continuing progress in this area will increase the likelihood of achieving ignition on the proposed NIF.
From page 30...
... The latter is particularly important, in view of the extension of numerical simulation capabilities enabled by the emerging ASCI machines. The development of TCF diagnostics will be coordinated by the Joint Central Diagnostic Team formed among the National Laboratories.
From page 31...
... Other research groups are also contributing to this effort, as the community of TCF-facility users further expands to universities. ~ _ THE NATIONAL IGNITION FACILITY PROJECT Project Organization The NIF project organization and its relationship to the LLNE appear to be sound and acceptable.
From page 32...
... To make these funds available to the NIF presupposes that NOVA operations are shut down, curtailed greatly, or supported from other sources at the end of 1998, which may hinder the pursuit of the remaining hurdles discussed in Chapter 5. The operating budget for the target physics program includes diagnostics and instrumentation not included in the TPC, as well as other items such as modeling.
From page 33...
... For a TPC of $1 .148 billion, the expected operating budget would be $115 million to $150 million. LLNE projects a NIF operating budget of $60 million, with an additional $60 million provided by the target physics program (NOVA, OMEGA, NIF)
From page 34...
... The committee notes that the apparently Tow proposed direct operating budget of $60 million appears compatible with NOVA experience, and that with the additional $60 million projected in the target physics program the total funds available ($120 million) are consistent with the 10 to 13°/0 expected from experience of similar megaprojects.


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