Rate of long term bleaching in FK 51 optical glass darkened by Co60 ionizing radiation at dose rates of 10 krad/hr and 7 rad/hr

A previous paper presented long term bleaching data on various glasses exposed to 10.6 krad of ionizing radiation. All the glasses reported except FK 51 have readily available `G` glass equivalents that are stabilized to the natural space environment. Yet, FK 51, because of its location on the Abbe diagram is extremely useful in certain lens design applications. To more fully explore the bleaching of FK 51, after the initial dose of 10.6 krad at 11.8 krad/hour, we irradiated three more samples at a similar dose rate but to different total doses. Since the dose rate for this study was significantly higher than the dose rate anticipated for glasses in as shielded space-based lens system (tilde 3 rad/day), additional data were obtained at a lower rate of 7 rad/hour. While this dose rate is still higher than the anticipated operational rate, it is more than 1000 times lower than the dose 011 011 011 rate used for our initial studies. The bleaching rate for the samples exposed at the lower dose rate is considerably less than for the samples exposed at the higher rate

Advances in optical materials for large aperture lasers

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is using large aperture Nd: glass lasers to investigate the feasibility of inertial confinement fusion. In our experiments high power laser light is focussed onto a small (100 to 500 micron) target containing a deuterium-tritium fuel mixture. During the short (1 to 5 ns) laser pulse the fuel is compressed and heated, resulting in fusion reactions. The generation and control of the powerful laser pulses for these experiments is a challenging scientific and engineering task, which requires the development of new optical materials, fabrication techniques, and coatings. LLNL with the considerable cooperation and support from the optical industry, where most of the research and development and almost all the manufacturing is done, has successfully applied several new developments in these areas

Evaluation of Bichromatic Coatings Designed for Pulsed Laser Fusion Applications at 0. 53 and 1. 06 Micrometers

Various bichromatic coatings designed to operate at both 0.53 and 1.06 micrometers have been evaluated for spectral performance and laser damage threshold to determine the suitability of these coatings for 1 nanosecond pulse laser fusion experiments and to establish baseline data. Anti-reflection, partially transmitting high reflection, and maximum reflection coatings, consisting of titania and silica layers, were deposited onto BK-7 substrates. For each type of coating, two different designs were examined. Spectral measurements indicate the coatings met performance goals. Laser damage threshold values at 1.06 micrometers were similar to those of previous monochromatic production coatings, while damage levels at 0.53 micrometers were about one-half these 1.06 micrometer values

Scanning reflection and transmission photometer for large high power laser optics

The Nova OTR (overall transmittance/reflectance) photometer operates at 1.064 nm, 528 nm, or 351 nm in order to closely simulate 1st, 2nd and 3rd harmonic frequencies of the Nova fusion laser. The optic is scanned on a large XY carriage while reflectance or transmittance data is taken on-the-fly. The system is controlled by an LSI 11/23 computer which processes the data and prints out the results in hard copy form, or stores data on a memory disk. The detectors are temperature controlled to within +- 0.01/sup 0/C which aids in achieving of an absolute accuracy of +- 0.1 to +- 0.5% of full scale, depending on the operating point. The photometer is capable of scanning a large optic (1 meter in diameter) in 20 to 30 minutes

Nuclear hardening of optical coatings: enhanced energy sharing concept. Revision 1

Satellite component hardening requirements in the early 1970's led to the development of the enhanced energy sharing concept (EESC) for optical mirror coatings. The idea was to increase the survivability of aluminum coated fused silica mirrors to prompt energy deposition by interposing a thick layer of beryllium between the aluminum and the substrate. Separating the materials of higher Z by the low Z beryllium redistributes the deposited heat load over a larger volume and reduces the maximum temperature in the aluminum film. Theoretical analyses of heat transfer during and after an energy input pulse supported this concept and subsequent above-ground and underground tests confirmed the greater survivability of this mirror design. In the sections that follow we give an insight into the physical mechanisms responsible for nuclear radiation deposition and temperature rise. This is followed by a review of calculations of melt fluence for several mirror constructions taking into account only the dominant deposition mechanisms and heat flow