Operation of the Z-Backlighter Laser Facility at Sandia National Laboratories

Dr. Patrick Rambo

Sandia National Labs

Albuquerque

At Sandia National Laboratories, the Z-Accelerator uses pulsed power to create high energy density conditions. These conditions result in nearly 2MJ of x-rays, making it the largest laboratory x-ray source in the world. The x-rays can be used for such things as astrophysical studies, effects testing, or inertial confinement fusion studies. The need for diagnosing such events via imaging, referred to as radiography or backlighting, is paramount. For backlighting at the Z-Accelerator, the need was met with the installation of a kiloJoule-class laser facility known as the Z-Backlighter. The facility contains several lasers, most notably the Z-Beamlet laser (a kiloJoules-level, nanosecond-scale system) and the Z-Petawatt laser (a several hundred Joule, sub-picosecond system). These lasers can be used to create their own high density conditions and subsequently provide x-rays or protons for imaging. The talk will discuss key aspects of the facility such as infrastructure, laser design, and radiographic capabilities.

Speaker Biography: Patrick Rambo received his B.A. in applied physics from Rice University in 1993. He received his Ph.D. in Optical Science from University of New Mexico in 2000 for dissertation research on laser-triggered lighting. Since 2000, he has been at Sandia National Laboratories working mostly at the Z-Backlighter facility. In 2001, he was part of the team which activated the first laser backlighting system there, known as Z-Beamlet. From 2003 to date, he has worked on advanced laser backlighting capability by developing the Z-Petawatt system.

Friday, September 5th, at 12:00 noon

CHTM, Room 101

A light lunch will be served at the talk.