2011 Status of the automatic alignment system for the National Ignition Facility

Automated alignment for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is accomplished using a large-scale parallel control system that directs 192 laser beams along the 300 m optical path. The beams are then focused down to a 50 μ spot in the middle of the target chamber. The entire process is completed in less than 50 min. The alignment system commands 9000 stepping motors for extremely precise adjustment of mirrors and other optics. 41 control loops per beamline perform parallel processing services running on a LINUX cluster to analyze high-resolution images of the beams and their references. This paper describes the status the NIF automatic alignment system and the challenges encountered as NIF development has transitioned from building the laser, to becoming a research project supporting a 24 h, 7 days/week laser facility. NIF is now a continuously operated system where performance monitoring is increasingly more critical for operation, maintenance, and commissioning tasks. Equipment wear and the effects of high energy neutrons from fusion experiments are issues which affect alignment efficiency and accuracy. New sensors needing automatic alignment assistance are common. System modifications to improve efficiency and accuracy are prevalent. Handling these evolving alignment and maintenance needs while minimizing the impact on NIF experiment schedule is expected to be an on-going challenge for the planned 30 year operational life of NIF.