LIVERMORE, Calif., Nov. 23 -— The staff at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world's largest laser project, has surpassed an ambitious goal set a year ago -- to install 1000 line-replaceable units (LRUs) by the end of October 2005. The workers accomplished the goal with a couple of weeks to spare. The LRUs are the complex modules containing optics and instrumentation, through which laser beams must pass as they make their way through the enclosed beamline to a tiny gas-filled pellet in the target chamber. The National Ignition Facility’s 1000th line-replacable optical unit is...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaArticlesNIF Scientists Claim Repeat Fusion BreakthroughScientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the National Ignition Facility (NIF) have reportedly advanced last December’s laser fusion breakthrough result. 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Today it is available in a range of designs and sizes with output powers of 20 kW and more....Photonics HandbookLasers: Understanding the BasicsOver 60 years have passed since the first demonstration of a laser in 1960. After the initial spark of interest, lasers were for a while categorized as “a solution waiting for a problem,”...Photonics HandbookSolid-State Lasers: Lower Noise Means Higher PerformanceMany linear materials proceseqsing applications call for lasers with continuous-wave (CW) output. For example, early stereolithography systems were based on CW lasers such as argon-ion or HeCd. To...Photonics HandbookRadiometry: A Simplified Description of Light MeasurementRadiometry involves several activities. The two most common are the description and measurement of optical radiation, and, starting with the knowledge of some aspects of optical radiation at one...Photonics HandbookWhite PapersMirrors for Big and Scary FS, PS LasersWhile high laser-induced damage threshold is a buzzword when talking femtosecond & picosecond optics, it is not (only) the nominal LIDT value that matters. Color-change effect is an arch-enemy and a...Photonics.com 4/12/2024PG&O'S Finished IR Optics Start with the Best MaterialsOptical products, traditionally used for visible light tasks, are moving aside to make room for more specialized optical components that are being manufactured for use in ultraviolet (UV) and...Photonics.com 6/20/2024PG&O's Beamsplitter Features 1000:1 Extinction RatioA global leader in optical manufacturing, precision thin-film coatings, and complete optical solutions, announces the new polarizing beamsplitter cube that splits up the S & P polarization of light...Photonics.com 6/19/2024OPTOMAN LIDT CapabilitiesOPTOMAN takes innovation very seriously and makes sure that optical components are able to resist the ongoing increase of laser power and decrease in pulse duration, thus high LIDT is OPTOMAN‘s bread...Photonics.com 4/5/2024WebinarsHow to Improve Laser Applications Using Freeform OpticsThis presentation provides a landscape of the freeform concept, design, product, and module solutions that are available for managers and designers of laser systems and applications that must deliver...Photonics.com 9/4/2024Photonics for OphthalmologyPhotonics Media invites you to join us for our upcoming FREE digital conference, "Photonics for Ophthalmology." 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In the case of inertial confinement fusion, the fusion reaction...Photonics Dictionaryinertial fusion energyInertial fusion energy (IFE) refers to a proposed method of generating electricity by harnessing the energy released from the fusion of light atomic nuclei, typically isotopes of hydrogen, through a...Photonics Dictionarycold atomCold atoms refer to atoms that have been cooled to extremely low temperatures, typically in the microkelvin (µK) to nanokelvin (nK) range, close to absolute zero (0 Kelvin or -273.15°C). At...Photonics Dictionarypump laserA pump laser is a type of laser used to provide the necessary energy to the gain medium of another laser or laser system, initiating the process of stimulated emission and producing laser light. 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In this webinar we give an overview of the new features and put them into context with the development strategy and technical...Photonics.com 4/5/2023Theory and Practice: Seamless Transition between Physical and Geometrical Optics Modeling - LightTrans International GmbHWe are convinced, that a modern optics software must be based on physical optics. Hence, VirtualLab Fusion is a physical optics software. The use of physical optics is only practical, if the modeling...Photonics.com 4/5/2023Photonics Buyers' Guide CategoriesCryogenic Equipment and SystemsHolographic Laser SystemsGlass-Annealing FurnacesA furnace, generally electrically heated, with a control system capable of following a cam by which the temperature can be made to go through a definite cycle over a period of days, or even weeks, if...Other FurnacesCompaniesFOCtek Photonics Inc.FOCtek provides customers with all types of custom manufactured lenses, Precision Optical Components, Polarizing Optics, Prisms, Filters, Coatings, Optical Systems, Crystals, Nonlinear Crystals,...Photonics Buyers' GuideAvantier Inc.Avantier Inc. is an unparalleled leader in providing innovative imaging systems solutions and optical systems solutions. We offer advance precision custom optical design, optical engineering...Photonics Buyers' GuideShanghai Optics Inc.ISO 9001 & ISO 13485 certified and D&B DUNS # 113515303 Shanghai Optics is an unparalleled custom system solution provider offering advance precision custom optical design, engineering,...Photonics Buyers' GuideMLD Technologies LLCExperts In Thin-film Coating Design We practice a design-before-quote approach to help customers refine specifications and minimize technical risk. We understand how coated optical elements...Photonics Buyers' Guide