National Ignition Facility Filters
“GrayGlass successfully supplied over 6,000 high precision Absorbing Glass Shields to the National Ignition Facility (NIF), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. All parts were delivered on time with 100% acceptance, and were a critical component during the final two years of the NIF’s assembly completed in March. It was a pleasure dealing with GrayGlass - truly a professional team, from the employees in the production and inspection areas to the administration and their President, Chris Viggiano.” --- Gregory Rogowski , Optical Coordinator, NIF - (July ’09)
NIF, the world’s largest and highest-energy laser system, was formally dedicated on May 29, 2009 and consists of 192 giant laser beams. NIF's 192 giant lasers, housed in a ten-story building the size of three football fields, will concentrate nearly 2 million Joules of energy total in its target chamber. These are conditions similar to those that exist only in the cores of stars and giant planets and inside a nuclear weapon.
GrayGlass supplied components of the integrated optics modules (IOM) that convert the wavelength of the laser from infrared to ultraviolet and focus each beam through a final focus lens onto a target located at the chamber's center. At this stage, each of the 192 laser beams has been amplified to 20,000 joules of energy. The Absorbing Glass Shields absorb reflected light energy off the crystals, to protect the IOM metal frames from suffering damages by the high energies involved.
In order to satisfy the exacting precision required of this optical system, GrayGlass employs state of the art manufacturing techniques. Parts are initially fabricated using OMAX precision abrasive waterjet systems to achieve the acute tolerances of +/-0.002” and excellent edge finish (Q5). Quality control is performed automatically via a Mitutoyo CMM (coordinate measuring machine) system that verifies 20 measurement points on the target object. Each compliant part is then CNC laser engraved with a certified serial number, ultrasonically cleaned, hermetically sealed and individually packed in specialized containers for shipment. All quality control processes and packing are performed in an inspection clean room.
In addition, GrayGlass produced the commemorative awards presented to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory team members and honored guests at the National Ignition Facility dedication. GrayGlass ingeniously crafted these unique awards from surplus laser glass which was cut, polished, and laser engraved.
High Precision fabricated filter panels for Integrated Optics Module were produced in-house using our state of the art CNC Water Jets, Milling and Surfacing Equipment and a dedicated QC Module. Items produced by GrayGlass are represented in yellow (false color).
