Infrared Smartt Interferometer As An Alignment Tool For Carbon Dioxide Laser Fusion Systems

V. K. Viswanathan; P. D. Bolen

doi:10.1117/12.957749

13 November 1980 Infrared Smartt Interferometer As An Alignment Tool For Carbon Dioxide Laser Fusion Systems

V. K. Viswanathan, P. D. Bolen

Proceedings Volume 0190, Los Alamos Conference on Optics 1979; (1980) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.957749
Event: Los Alamos Conference on Optics '79, 1979, Los Alamos, United States

Abstract

It is essential to minimize the pointing and focusing errors at the focal plane for many applications involving infrared laser systems. In the case of the LASL CO2 laser fusion systems, with two beams in the Gemini System and eight beams in the Helios System, this is particularly important. The LASL Helios CO2 Laser Fusion System has eight 34-cm diameter beams emerging from the power amplifier and each beam is brought to focus by an off-aperture parabola (nearly 77.3-cm focal length) resulting in a nearly F/2.4 beam at the focal plane. The design tolerance at the focal plane for pointing accuracy is ± 25 microns and for focusing accuracy is ± 50 microns for this system. This paper describes an alignment scheme based on the use of the infrared Smartt interferometer' and compares the results obtained using this technique and the autocollimating Hartmann scheme2 in a laboratory setup duplicating the target chamber region of one of the beams of the Helios System. The results using the Smartt interferometer show that pointing accuracy of ± 12.5 microns and focusing accuracies of ± 15 microns are obtained at the focal plane of the system.

Citation Download Citation

V. K. Viswanathan and P. D. Bolen "Infrared Smartt Interferometer As An Alignment Tool For Carbon Dioxide Laser Fusion Systems", Proc. SPIE 0190, Los Alamos Conference on Optics 1979, (13 November 1980); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.957749

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