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AbstractThe possibility of imploding small capsules to produce mini-fusion explosions was explored soon after the first thermonuclear explosions in the early 1950s. Various technologies have been pursued to achieve the focused power and energy required for laboratory-scale fusion. Each technology has its own challenges. For example, electron and ion beams can deliver the large amounts of energy but must contend with Coulomb repulsion forces that make focusing these beams a daunting challenge. The demonstration of the first laser in 1960 provided a new option. Energy from laser beams can be focused and deposited within a small volume; the challenge became whether a practical laser system can be constructed that delivers the power and energy required while meeting all other demands for achieving a high-density, symmetric implosion. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the laser designed and built to meet the challenges for study of high-energy-density physics and inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. This paper describes the architecture, systems, and subsystems of NIF. It describes how they partner with each other to meet these new, complex demands and describes how laser science and technology were woven together to bring NIF into reality.

An analysis of the radiative properties of an electric dipole placed near planar, Kerr-type nonlinear waveguides is presented. Four fundamental geometries are discussed with emphasis on a linear–nonlinear interface and a Fabry–Perot cavity. A comparison is made with a dipole near a linear waveguide for which the interaction with nearby bound modes influences the damping rate and angular distribution of the dipole’s radiation. The magnitude of the influence, which is readily quantified, depends on the properties of the waveguide modes. Unlike its linear counterpart, the nonlinear waveguide supports different modes when pumped at different intensities. Rather than having properties that are fixed at the time of sample fabrication, a dipole near a nonlinear waveguide is found to have a dynamically tunable, intensity-dependent damping rate.

An analysis of the radiative properties of an electric dipole placed near planar, Kerr-type nonlinear waveguides is presented. Four fundamental geometries are discussed with emphasis on a linearnonlinear interface and a Fabry-Perot cavity. A comparison is made with a dipole near a linear waveguide for which the interaction with nearby bound modes influences the damping rate and angular distribution of the dipoles radiation. The magnitude of the influence, which is readily quantified, depends on the properties of the waveguide modes. Unlike its linear counterpart, the nonlinear waveguide supports different modes when pumped at different intensities. Rather than having properties that are fixed at the time of sample fabrication, a dipole near a nonlinear waveguide is found to have a dynamically tunable, intensity-dependent damping rate.