Features and initial performance of automatic alignment on the Nova fusion laser

The alignment system for Nova is designed to perform automatically all alignment tasks from the oscillator-to-target chamber center. It is comprised of five subsystems, each utilizing a different sensor package design. All beam alignment data are collected in video form by vidicon, charge-coupled devices (CCD), and charge-injected device (CID) cameras which reside in the sensor packages. Frequently used alignment references are remotely insertable, and the mirrors, lenses, and other components needed to correct alignment errors are installed in motorized mounts so that they too are remotely controlled. Finally, the sensor packages themselves can be placed in any of their several operating modes by external commands from the control system. Table I summarizes the composition of the five subsystems and gives an indication of the magnitude of the control task.