Measuring the X-ray environment generated at the center of the NIF target chamber is a core capability
required for understanding target implosions and other physics experiments. Recently an upgrade was
performed to the recording systems employing modern digital technology and additional remote-control
capabilities. Together, significantly decreasing manual setup burdens, increasing accuracy, stability and
availability while contributing to shot rate improvement, overall efficiency and cost of operations reduction on
NIF. We present the systems chosen, improved calibration techniques employed and some of the key features
including the addition of self-test capabilities.
The newest Gas Cherenkov Detector (GCD-3) diagnostic has completed its Phase I commissioning/milestone at the
National Ignition Facility (NIF). GCD-3 was fielded for several years at the Omega Laser Facility in its initial
configuration, before being moved to the NIF. Installation at the NIF involved optimization of GCD-3 for the higher
background environment and designing a new insertion carrier assembly. GCD-3 serves as the initial phase towards the
implementation of the “Super GCD” (SGCD) at the NIF. During this phase of development GCD-3 took measurements
from a re-entrant well, 3.9 meters from target chamber center (TCC). Plans to insert GCD-3 within 20 cm of TCC with a
Target and Diagnostic Manipulator (TANDM) will be discussed. Data was collected using a Photomultiplier Tube
(PMT) in combination with a Mach-Zehnder based recording system. These measurements were used to aid in shielding
analysis, validate MCNP models, and fuel design efforts for the SGCD. Findings from the initial data will be covered
extensively, including an in-depth look into sources of background and possible mitigation strategies. Ongoing
development of phase two, the addition of an ultra-high bandwidth Pulse Dilatation Photomultiplier Tube (PD-PMT),
will also be presented.
KEYWORDS: National Ignition Facility, Oscilloscopes, Signal processing, Distortion, Calibration, Standards development, Analog electronics, Diagnostics, Signal attenuation, MATLAB
The goal of this paper is to outline the process for characterizing the S-parameters of passive two-port electrical
devices to calculate the input signal from a measured output signal when standard two-port VNA measurements are
not possible. For long cables such as those used at NIF to transmit analog electrical signals long distances from target
diagnostics to their respective data digitizer, standard two-port VNA measurements cannot be used to determine the
cables’ transfer functions due to the large physical separations between the ports of the cables. Traditionally, this
problem was addressed by recording input and output waveforms with two oscilloscopes and then comparing their
spectral composition. A new method is to take reflection measurements at one port and substitute three known loads
at the other port to generate a system of simultaneous equations that will allow for S21 to be quantified.
KEYWORDS: National Ignition Facility, Signal to noise ratio, Digital recording, Sensors, Data transmission, Photodiodes, Diagnostics, Amplifiers, Oscilloscopes, Interference (communication)
This paper covers the performance of a high speed analogue data transmission system. This system uses multiple Mach-
Zehnder optical modulators to transmit and record fusion burn history data for the Gas Cherenkov Detector (GCD) on
the National Ignition Facility. The GCD is designed to measure the burn duration of high energy gamma rays generated
by Deuterium-Tritium (DT) interactions in the NIF. The burn duration of DT fusion can be as short as 10ps and the
optical photons generated in the gas Cherenkov cell are measured using a vacuum photodiode with a FWHM of ~55ps.
A recording system with a 3dB bandwidth of ≥10GHz and a signal to noise ratio of ≥5 for photodiode output voltage of
50mV is presented. The data transmission system uses two or three Mach-Zehnder modulators and an RF amplifier to
transmit data optically. This signal is received and recorded by optical to electrical converts and a high speed digital
oscilloscope placed outside of the NIF Target Bay. Electrical performance metrics covered include signal to noise ratio
(SNR), signal to peak to peak noise ratio, single shot dynamic range, shot to shot dynamic range, system bandwidth,
scattering parameters, are shown. Design considerations such as self-test capabilities, the NIF radiation environment,
upgrade compatibility, Mach-Zehnder (MZ) biasing, maintainability, and operating considerations for the use of MZs are
covered. This data recording system will be used for the future upgrade of the GCD to be used with a Pulse Dilation
PMT, currently under development.
This paper covers a systems engineering analysis of existing scope-based Target Diagnostics (TD) on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), for the purpose of selecting a standard digitizer architecture future diagnostics. Key performance criteria and a summary of test results are presented.
Currently of the 60+ Target Diagnostics, at least fifteen use a type of high speed electrical signal data read-out device leading to over 200 digitization channels spread over six types of CRT and digital oscilloscopes, each with multiple models and versions. The proposed standard architecture discussed in this paper allows the NIF to efficiently and reliably operate digitizers that meet the required performance metrics for the lifetime of the NIF.
The systems engineering analysis identifies key stakeholders for multiple subsets of scope-based diagnostics including but not limited to the nToFs (neutron Time of Flight), DANTE a broadband, time-resolved x-ray spectrometer, SPBT (South Pole Bang Time), GRH (Gamma Reaction History), and FFLEX (Filter Fluorescer Diagnostic). From these stakeholders, key performance metrics are derived and feed into test and evaluation criteria for different digitizers and architectures.
We present new designs for the launch and receiver boards used in a high speed x-ray framing camera at the National Ignition Facility. The new launch board uses a Klopfenstein taper to match the 50 ohm input impedance to the ~10 ohm microchannel plate. The new receiver board incorporates design changes resulting in an output monitor pulse shape that more accurately represents the pulse shape at the input and across the microchannel plate; this is valuable for assessing and monitoring the electrical performance of the assembled framing camera head. The launch and receiver boards maximize power coupling to the microchannel plate, minimize cross talk between channels, and minimize reflections. We discuss some of the design tradeoffs we explored, and present modeling results and measured performance. We also present our methods for dealing with the non-ideal behavior of coupling capacitors and terminating resistors. We compare the performance of these new designs to that of some earlier designs.
B. Beeman, A. Carpenter, J. Kimbrough, T. Clancy, R. Chow, E. Bond, Z. Zayas-Rivera, P. Bell, J. Celeste, A. MacPhee, W. Widmann, T. Golod, E. Miller, R. Abbott, K. Lee, J. Peterson, S. Gordoni, J. Buckley, W. Donaldson
We present lessons learned from the fielding of various Mach-Zehnder (MZ) based diagnostic systems
on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and potential solutions. The DANTE X-ray diagnostic is the next in a
series of applications for Mach-Zehnder based signal transport and acquisition systems on NIF and as such
will incorporate many of these upgrades. In addition to extended dynamic-range performance and improved
reliability, the upgrades presented also enable multiplexing of the signals from DANTE’s 18 X-Ray Diodes
(XRD) to economize on system cost and rack space. Previous deployments on other NIF diagnostics
highlighted the necessity to decouple the input light intensity from the bias point of the Mach-Zehnder. Areas
of concern including polarization, temperature, bias point and optical power level control will be addressed.
KEYWORDS: National Ignition Facility, Modulators, Diagnostics, X-rays, Signal detection, Signal to noise ratio, CRTs, Phase measurement, Error analysis, Sensors
We present performance data for Mach-Zehnder optical modulators fielded on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) as a potential signal path upgrade for the South Pole Bang Time diagnostic. A single channel demonstration system has been deployed utilizing two modulators operating in a 90° In phase and Quadrature (I/Q) configuration. X-ray target emission signals are split and fed into two recording systems: a reference CRT based oscilloscope, Greenfield FTD10000, and the dual Mach-Zehnder system. Results of X-ray implosion time (bang time) determination from these two recording systems are compared and presented.
KEYWORDS: Comets, Signal detection, National Ignition Facility, Diagnostics, Signal to noise ratio, Multiplexing, Modulators, Pulsed laser operation, Interference (communication), X-rays
We present performance characterization measurements for Mach-Zehnder optical modulators to be fielded on NIF as a signal path upgrade for various diagnostics. Two different operating configurations will be explored including in phase quadrature and 90deg I/Q operation. Impulse response functions of x-ray emissions were conducted using the COMET laser facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Results from these short pulse laser driven plasma experiments are given along with comparisons to other recording instrumentation
The wavefront controller for the Keck Observatory AO system consists of two separate real-time control loops: a tip-tilt control loop to remove tilt from the incoming wavefront, and a deformable mirror control loop to remove higher-order aberrations. In this paper, we describe these control loops and analyze their performance using diagnostic data acquired during the integration and testing of the AO system on the telescope. Disturbance rejection curves for the controllers are calculated from the experimental data and compared to theory. The residual wavefront errors due to control loop bandwidth are also calculated from the data, and possible improvements to the controller performance are discussed.
The laser guide star adaptive optics system currently being developed for the Keck 2 telescope consists of several major subsystems: the optical bench, wavefront control, user interface and supervisory control, and the laser system. The paper describes the design and implementation of the wavefront control subsystem that controls a 349 actuator deformable mirror for high order correction and tip-tilt mirrors for stabilizing the image and laser positions.
A tip-tilt control system has been built as part of the adaptive optics system for the Keck II telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. This system is used to correct for wavefront tip-tilt when the adaptive optics system is in the laser guide star mode, and it uses a natural star as the reference. The system consists of a tip-tilt sensor, fast steering mirror, and digital controller. The tip-tilt sensor is based on a quadrant lens assembly with fiber-optics coupling to four photon counting silicon avalanche photodiodes. The fast steering mirror mount has three PZT actuators with position sensor, and an 8 inch Silicon Carbide lightweight mirror. The controller accommodates a range of integration times, and includes automatic light level control, and an adaptive control algorithm which optimizes control performance with changing tilt star image sizes. The design and performance characteristics of a tip- tilt control system for the Keck II telescope are presented.
Atmospheric turbulence severely limits the resolution of ground-based telescopes. Adaptive optics can correct for the aberrations caused by the atmosphere, but requires a bright wavefront reference source in close angular proximity to the object being imaged. Since natural reference stars of the necessary brightness are relatively rare, methods of generating artificial reference beacons have been under active investigation for more than a decade. In this paper, we report the first significant image improvement achieved using a sodium-layer laser guide star as a wavefront reference for a high-order adaptive optics system. An artificial beacon was created by resonant scattering from atomic sodium in the mesosphere, at an altitude of 95 km. Using this laser guide star, an adaptive optics system on the 3 m Shane Telescope at Lick Observatory produced a factor of 2.4 increase in peak intensity and a factor of 2 decrease in full width at half maximum of a stellar image, compared with image motion compensation alone. The Strehl ratio when using the laser guide star as the reference was 65% of that obtained with a natural guide star, and the image full widths at half maximum were identical, 0.3 arc sec, using either the laser or the natural guide star. This sodium-layer laser guide star technique holds great promise for the world's largest telescopes.
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