NIF Status Update – 2014

May —

• Highlights of May Experiments on NIF
• Gigabar Equation-of-State Experiments
• Production of Beryllium Capsules for NIF Begins
• First Weekly FM&R Carried Out Successfully

April —

• NIF Spring Maintenance Period Successfully Completed
• NIF Experiments Resume
• Successful Tests of the NIF X-ray Spectrometer

March —

• NIF Shot Rate Ramps Up
• Spring NIF Maintenance Period Begins

February —

• Successful “Mini-Campaigns” Demonstrate New NIF Shot Cycle Efficiencies
• Twenty NIF Experiments Completed in February
• Ten-Picosecond X-ray Camera Installed on NIF
• Gray Blockers on NIF’s Lasers Pass an Important Test

January —

• NIF’s Neutron Yield Continues to Climb; Alpha Heating Yield Exceeds 50 Percent
• NIF Facility Maintenance & Reconfiguration Period Successfully Completed
• January Experimental Highlights
• NIF’s Petawatt Laser System Continues to Make Good Progress