Image processing and control of a programmable spatial light modulator

Abdul A. S. Awwal; Richard Leach; Gordon Brunton; Eddy Tse; JoAnn Matone; John Heebner

doi:10.1117/12.876399

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18 February 2011 Image processing and control of a programmable spatial light modulator

Abdul A. S. Awwal, Richard Leach, Gordon Brunton, Eddy Tse, JoAnn Matone, John Heebner

Proceedings Volume 7916, High Power Lasers for Fusion Research; 79160Q (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.876399
Event: SPIE LASE, 2011, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

The heart of the National Ignition Facility is a megajoule-class laser system consisting of 192 beams used to drive inertial confinement fusion reactions. A recently installed system of programmable, liquid-crystal-based spatial light modulators adds the capability of arbitrarily shaping the spatial beam profiles in order to enhance operational flexibility. Its primary intended use is for introducing "blocker" obscurations shadowing isolated flaws on downstream optical elements that would otherwise be damaged by high fluence laser illumination. Because an improperly shaped blocker pattern can lead to equipment damage, both the position and shape of the obscurations must be carefully verified prior to high-fluence operations. An automatic alignment algorithm is used to perform detection and estimation of the imposed blocker centroid positions compared to their intended locations. Furthermore, in order to minimize the spatially-varying nonlinear response of the device, a calibration of the local magnification is performed at multiple sub-image locations. In this paper, we describe the control and associated image processing of this device that helps to enhance the safety and longevity of the overall system.

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Abdul A. S. Awwal, Richard Leach, Gordon Brunton, Eddy Tse, JoAnn Matone, and John Heebner "Image processing and control of a programmable spatial light modulator", Proc. SPIE 7916, High Power Lasers for Fusion Research, 79160Q (18 February 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.876399

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