Case Study: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
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ZYGO – CASE STUDY How Zygo supports the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility’s quest for sustainable clean energy_ Situation The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) National Ignition Facility (NIF) precisely guides, amplifies, reflects, and focuses 192 powerful laser beams into a target about the size of a pencil eraser in a few billionths of a second, delivering more than 2 million joules of ultraviolet energy and 500 trillion watts of peak power. The NIF’s laser system generates temperatures in the target of more than 180 million degrees Fahrenheit and pressures of more than 100 billion Earth atmospheres. Those extreme conditions cause hydrogen atoms in the target to fuse and release energy in a controlled thermonuclear reaction. NIF’s experiments such as this provide the scientific basis for a revolution in energy production. Inertial fusion energy offers the potential for virtually unlimited safe and sustainable clean energy by harnessing the power of the sun and stars. Achieving these heights of energy production requires using highly precise optics–the kind of optics produced by Zygo. Zygo is the world’s top expert in high-precision, high-energy flat optics. I recommend Zygo to other organizations with similar needs because of the company’s proven reliability and professionalism.” Christopher Stolz_ Associate Program Manager for the Optics Production Group in the National Ignition

ZYGO – CASE STUDY Zygo has been making optics for the NIF’s laser program since the early 1970s. According to Christopher Stolz, Associate Program Manager for the Optics Production Group of the NIF, “The company is well known for making optics of very high-precision flatness. One of the reasons why we’ve been doing business with Zygo for so long is because of that expertise.” Zygo worked closely with LLNL to develop optical manufacturing processes that support high-volume production of meter-class, laser-grade optics for the NIF laser. Such optics include amplifier slabs, turning mirrors,...