THE ROLE OF THE LABORATORY FOR LASER ENERGETICS IN THE NATIONAL-IGNITION-FACILITY PROJECT

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a 192-beam, 1.8-MJ (ultraviole t) laser facility that is currently planned to start operating in 2002 . The NIF mission is to provide data critical to this Nation's science -based stockpile stewardship (SBSS) program and to advance the underst anding of inertial confinement fusion and assess its potential as an e nergy source. The NIF project involves a collaboration among the Lawre nce Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Los Alamos National Laborato ry (LANL), Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), and the University of Roc hester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (UR/LLE). In this paper, the role of the University of Rochester in the research, development, and planning required to assure the success of the NIF will be presented. The principal roles of the UR/LLE in the NIF are (1) validation of the direct-drive approach to NIF using the OMEGA 60-beam, 40-kJ UV laser facility; (2) support of indirect-drive physics experiments using OMEG A in collaboration with LLNL and LANL; (3) development of plasma diagn ostics for NIF; (4) development of beam-smoothing techniques; and (5) development of thin-film coatings for NIF and cryogenic-fuel-layer tar gets for eventual application to NIF.