PEABODY, Massachusetts, June 18, 2009 –– The May 29 announcement that the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was dedicated after several years of construction brought to fruition Technical Manufacturing Corporation’s (TMC) involvement in the project to develop the world’s highest-energy laser system.

NIF recognized TMC for its critical contributions as one of its key industrial partners, noting that “a project of such magnitude and complexity could never have succeeded without the continuing interest and sustained help of private sector participants such as Technical Manufacturing Corporation.”

In 2000, TMC received its first order from NIF – 504 eight-foot-long CleanTop® optical tops to support the optics in NIF’s Preamplifier Beam Transport System (PABST). TMC met the Facility’s stringent requirements for quality, quantity, performance, cleanliness, low cost, and fast delivery of the optical tops.

When faced with an equally daunting challenge in 2004, NIF again chose TMC. At that time, TMC was awarded a complex design and build order for 48 15-foot-long, “T”-shaped, coupled optical table systems with an integrated stainless steel housing to control acoustic noise, drafts, dust and electromagnetic interference. These optical table systems support NIF’s Preamplifier Module (PAM) optics. PAM’s 48 units receive a “seed type” pulse from the Master Oscillator Room and perform certain amplifier functions. The 20-joule output from each PAM goes into ISP, a pulse-shaping function. PABST then splits the PAM beams into four equal beams, creating a total of 192 18-inch-diameter beams. These pulses then enter the Main Laser Bay where they undergo multiple pass amplifications in the slab laser amplifiers before passing on to the target chamber.

The goal of the stadium-sized NIF is to achieve fusion ignition and thermonuclear burn in the laboratory. Its 192 giant laser beams focus onto a target the size of a cold capsule, producing temperatures and densities like those in the Sun or an exploding nuclear weapon. NIF’s purpose is to ensure the continuing reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile without underground nuclear testing. It will also provide a path to explore the frontiers of basic science and potential technologies for energy independence. After a period of simulated testing, inertial confinement fusion experiments are scheduled to begin in the fall of 2009.

TMC designs and manufactures precision vibration isolation systems for sensitive research and manufacturing processes worldwide. The ISO 9001:2000-certified company’s products include active and passive vibration isolation systems; optical tops, optical table systems, and breadboards; laboratory tables and table top platforms; floor platforms; magnetic cancellation and electric field shielding systems; and acoustic enclosures. For more information about TMC, visit www.techmfg.com. For information about the NIF project, see https://lasers.llnl.gov/.

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CleanTop is a registered trademark of Technical Manufacturing Corporation.

Contact:
Steve Ryan
Technical Manufacturing Corp.
978-532-6330
sryan@techmfg.com

Jean Souden
jsouden@comcast.net