Quick Shot
VISAR System
December 18, 2013
Instrument specialists Andrew Sorce and Joshua Kendrick (not pictured) have realigned a velocity interferometer (VISAR), along with two Rochester Optical Streak System (ROSS) streak cameras used in the active shock breakout (ASBO) diagnostic for the OMEGA EP Laser System. Originally installed in 2009, the entire system was removed to a separate laboratory so that its optical systems could be adjusted and realigned to provide optimal on-shot performance. Shock waves in targets driven by OMEGA EP produce a Doppler shift in the probe beam that is detected by modified Mach–Zehnder interferometers, which require precise and stable alignment.