4. Laser System

NIF Laser System

This section provides an overview of the laser performance and pulse shaping capabilities for experiments on the NIF laser. For more information on laser performance, see The National Ignition Facility Laser Performance Status by Haynam et al. The following subsections provide a brief description of the laser configuration, peak power and energy operating limits, pulse shaping capabilities, focal spot conditioning options, and laser diagnostics.

Figure 4.1

Figure 4-1. High-level architectural components of the NIF laser system.