The Z-Backlighter Laser Facility at Sandia National Laboratories was developed to enable high energy density physics experiments in conjunction with the Z Pulsed Power Facility at Sandia National Laboratories, with an emphasis on backlighting. Since the first laser system there became operational in 2001, the facility has continually evolved to add new capability and new missions. The facility currently has several high energy laser systems including the nanosecond/multi-kilojoule Z-Beamlet Laser (ZBL), the sub-picosecond/kilojoule- class Z-Petawatt (ZPW) Laser, and the smaller nanosecond/100 J-class Chaco laser. In addition to these, the backlighting mission requires a regular stream of coated consumable optics such as debris shields and vacuum windows, which led to the development of the Sandia Optics Support Facility to support the unique high damage threshold optical coating needs described.

Date Published: 6 December 2016
PDF: 16 pages
Proc. SPIE 10014, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials 2016, 100140Z (6 December 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2245271

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10014:
Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials 2016
Greg J. Exarhos; Vitaly E. Gruzdev; Joseph A. Menapace; Detlev Ristau; MJ Soileau, Editor(s)