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Initial performance results of the OMEGA laser system

Thomas R. Boehly, David L. Brown, Robert S. Craxton, R. L. Keck, James P. Knauer, John H. Kelly, T. J. Kessler, Steve Kumpan et al.

Optics Communications, 1997

1,061 citations

Abstract

OMEGA is a 60-terawatt, 60-beam, frequency-tripled Nd:glass laser system designed to perform precision direct-drive inertial-confinement-fusion (ICF) experiments. The upgrade to the system, completed in April 1995, met or surpassed all technical requirements. The acceptance tests demonstrated exceptional performance throughout the system: high driver stability (< 2% variations), precise control of the beam profiles and amplifier gains, 75% frequency-conversion efficiency, beam energy balance less than 8% and stable on-target irradiation of up to 37 kJ UV. We present these results and show that the system performance is well modeled by our propagation and frequency-conversion codes.

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