The National Ignition Facility

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the largest construction project ever undertaken at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The NIF consists of 192 40 cm square laser beams and a 10 m diameter target chamber. The NIF is being designed and built by an LLNL led team from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Rochester and LLNL. Physical construction began in 1997. The Laser and Target Area Building and the Optics Assembly Building were the first major construction activities, and despite several unforeseen obstacles: the buildings are now 92% complete and have been built on time and within cost. Prototype component development and testing has proceeded in parallel. Optics vendors have installed full scale production lines and have performed prototype production runs. The assembly and integration of the beampath infrastructure have been reconsidered and a new approach has been developed. The article discusses the status of the NIF project and the plans for completion.