Timeline – 1990
OMEGA Upgrade Approved
During FY90, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) carried out two independent reviews of the LLE inertial fusion program. The first was a technical review of the OMEGA Upgrade Preliminary Design (Title 1) on 7 November 1989. This review resulted in the approval of the conceptual design of the OMEGA Upgrade. The second review was conducted by the management and DOE’s administration office (MA-22) and validated the cost of the project. In the subsequent year, the detailed design of the system commenced, long-lead items were procured, and the technology demonstration was continued in order to develop the power amplifiers for the upgrade.
The detailed design for the upgraded OMEGA system commenced in October 1990. Construction was expected to take four years.
R. S. Craxton, ed., OMEGA Upgrade Preliminary Design, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester NY, LLE Document No. DOE/DP 40200–101 (1989).
FPAC Final Report
The FPAC review panel was formed by the U.S. Secretary of Energy to take a broad look at DOE’s fusion program. In September 1990, they submitted their final report, which endorsed both the magnetic and inertial approaches to fusion energy. It recommended a policy focused on a demonstration power plant to operate by 2025 and a commercial power plant by 2040. FPAC endorsed the construction of a Nova Upgrade, pending completion of the Precision Nova milestones. To further evaluate direct drive, FPAC endorsed the construction of the OMEGA Upgrade. The FPAC report emphasized the participation of universities in fusion science and technology and noted, “With the exception of the University of Rochester, universities have played a minor role in inertial fusion…”
SSD Phase-Modulator Development
Andrea Huberty, an undergraduate student, is shown making adjustments to the transmission line feeding microwave power to a 10-GHz electro-optic phase modulator used to generate controlled laser bandwidths for beam smoothing with spectral dispersion (SSD).
