LLNL, Livermore, USA
The historical breakthrough experiment at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) produced fusion ignition in a laboratory for the first time and made headlines around the world. This achievement was the result of decades of research, thousands of people, and hardware and software systems that rivaled the complexity of anything built before. The NIF laser Automatic Alignment (AA) system has played a major role in this accomplishment. Each high yield shot in the NIF laser system requires all 192 laser beams to arrive at the target within 30 picoseconds and be aligned within 50 microns-half the diameter of human hair-all with the correct wavelength and energy. AA makes it possible to align and fire the 192 NIF laser beams efficiently and reliably several times a day. AA is built on multiple layers of complex calculations and algorithms that implement data and image analysis to position optical devices in the beam path in a highly accurate and repeatable manner through the controlled movement of about 66,000 control points. The system was designed to have minimum or no human intervention. This paper will describe AA’s evolution, its role in ignition, and future modernization.
LLNL Release Number: LLNL-ABS-847783
LLNL, Livermore, California, USA
Over the last several years, the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world’s largest and most energetic laser, has regularly conducted approximately 400 shots per year. Each experiment is defined by up to 48 unique pulse shapes, with each pulse shape potentially having thousands of configurable data points. The importance of accurately representing small changes in pulse shape, illustrated by the historic ignition experiment in December 2022, highlights the necessity for pulse designers at NIF to have access to robust, easy to use, and accurate design software that can integrate with the existing and future ecosystem of software at NIF. To develop and maintain this type of complex software, the Shot Data Systems (SDS) group has recently embraced leveraging a common set of recommended technologies and frameworks for software development across their suite of applications. This paper will detail SDS’s experience migrating an existing legacy Java Swing-based pulse shape editor into a modern web application leveraging technologies recommended by the common tech stack, including Spring Boot, TypeScript, React and Docker with Kubernetes, as well as discuss how embracing a common set of technologies influenced the migration path, improved the developer experience, and how it will benefit the extensibility and maintainability of the application for years to come.
LLNL Release Number: LLNL-ABS-848203
LLNL, Livermore, USA
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the world’s largest and most energetic 192-laser-beam system which conducts experiments in High Energy Density (HED) physics and Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF). In December 2022, the NIF achieved a scientific breakthrough when, for the first time ever, the ICF ignition occurred under laboratory conditions. The key to the NIF’s experimental prowess and versatility is not only its power but also its precise control. The NIF controls and data systems place the experimenter in full command of the laser and target diagnostics capabilities. The recently upgraded Master Oscillator Room (MOR) system precisely shapes NIF laser pulses in the temporal, spatial, and spectral domains. Apart from the primary 10-meter spherical target chamber, the NIF laser beams can now be directed towards two more experimental stations to study laser interactions with optics and large full beam targets. The NIF’s wide range of target diagnostics continues to expand with new tools to probe and capture complex plasma phenomena using x-rays, gamma-rays, neutrons, and accelerated protons. While the increasing neutron yields mark the NIF’s steady progress towards exciting experimental regimes, they also require new mitigations for radiation damage in control and diagnostic electronics. With many NIF components approaching 20 years of age, a Sustainment Plan is now underway to modernize NIF, including controls and information systems, to assure NIF operations through 2040.
LLNL Release Number: LLNL-ABS-847574