Anti-Reflective Coating for NIF Optics
LLNL Chemist Paul Ehrmann prepares an anti-reflective coating used on NIF optics. The coating was developed to overcome energy-robbing reflections and limit damage from the rear surface of the facility’s grating debris shields, or GDSs. The colloidal silica particle coating, made by a sol-gel chemical process, was applied to the grating surface of the GDS. The particles were treated with a chemical that modifies the surface, making them more immune to changes in humidity and other environmental factors (see
“Next-Generation NIF Optics Boost Energy and Limit Damage”). Credit: Jason Laurea
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