Author: Wilhelmsen, K.C.
Paper Title Page
MOPV021 Upgrading the National Ignition Facility’s (NIF) Integrated Computer Control System to Support Optical Thompson Scattering (OTS) Diagnostic 173
 
  • A.I. Barnes, A.A.S. Awwal, L. Beaulac, B. Blackwell, G.K. Brunton, K. Burns, J.R. Castro Morales, M. Fedorov, R. Lacuata, R.R. Leach, D.G. Mathisen, V.J. Miller Kamm, S. Muralidhar, V. Pacheu, Y. Pan, S. Patankar, B.P. Patel, M. Paul, R. Rozenshteyn, R.J. Sanchez, S. Sauter, M. Taranowski, D. Tucker, K.C. Wilhelmsen, B.A. Wilson, H. Zhang
    LLNL, Livermore, California, USA
 
  Funding: This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.
With the ability to deliver 2.1 MJ of 500 TW ultraviolet laser light to a target, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the world’s most energetic laser. This combination of energy and power allows the study of materials under conditions similar to the center of the sun. On fusion ignition experiments, plasma generated in the interior of the target shell can detrimentally impact the implosion symmetry and the resulting energy output. We are in the final stages of commissioning a significant new diagnostic system that will allow us to better understand the plasma conditions and improve our symmetry control techniques. This Optical Thompson Scattering (OTS) system consists of two major components: a probe laser beamline capable of delivering a world first 1 J of energy at 211 nm, and a diagnostic that both reflects the probe laser into the target and collects the scattered photons. Between these two components, the control system enhancements required integration of over 450 components into the existing automation suite. This talk will provide an overview of the system upgrade approach and the tools used to efficiently manage and test changes to both our data and software.
 
DOI • reference for this paper ※ https://doi.org/10.18429/JACoW-ICALEPCS2021-MOPV021  
About • Received ※ 09 October 2021       Accepted ※ 10 February 2022       Issue date ※ 21 February 2022  
Cite • reference for this paper using ※ BibTeX, ※ LaTeX, ※ Text/Word, ※ RIS, ※ EndNote (xml)  
 
WEAL01 Image Processing Alignment Algorithms for the Optical Thomson Scattering Laser at the National Ignition Facility 528
 
  • A.A.S. Awwal, T.S. Budge, R.R. Leach, R.R. Lowe-Webb, V.J. Miller Kamm, S. Patankar, B.P. Patel, K.C. Wilhelmsen
    LLNL, Livermore, California, USA
 
  Funding: *This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.
Understanding plasma performance in the world’s largest and most energetic laser facility, the National Ignition Facility (NIF), is an important step to achieving the goal of inertial confinement fusion in a laboratory setting. The optical Thompson scattering (OTS) laser has been developed to understand the target implosion physics, especially for under-dense plasma conditions. A 5w probe beams can be set up for diagnosing various plasma densities. Just as the NIF laser with 192 laser beams are precisely aligned, the OTS system also requires precision alignment using a series of automated closed loop control steps. CCD images from the OTS laser (OTSL) beams are analyzed using a suite of image processing algorithm. The algorithms provide beam position measurements that are used to control motorized mirrors that steer beams to their defined desired location. In this paper, several alignment algorithms will be discussed with details on how they take advantage of various types of fiducials such as diffraction rings, contrasting squares and circles, octagons and very faint 5w laser beams.
*This is released as LLNL-ABS-821809
 
slides icon Slides WEAL01 [1.303 MB]  
DOI • reference for this paper ※ https://doi.org/10.18429/JACoW-ICALEPCS2021-WEAL01  
About • Received ※ 08 October 2021       Revised ※ 18 October 2021       Accepted ※ 21 November 2021       Issue date ※ 14 March 2022
Cite • reference for this paper using ※ BibTeX, ※ LaTeX, ※ Text/Word, ※ RIS, ※ EndNote (xml)