Nike laser

The Nike laser at the United States Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC is a 56-beam, 4–5 kJ per pulse electron beam pumped krypton fluoride excimer laser which operates in the ultraviolet at 248 nm with pulsewidths of a few nanoseconds.

This feature is especially important for minimizing the seeding of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in the imploding fusion target capsule plasma.

In a gas-based laser, the entire gas molecule changes energy levels to release light.

This is applied to a solid state (or magnetic) switch that transfers that energy into a water-filled transmission line.

A laser beam passes across the plasma switch, which induces streams of electrons to strike an emitter plate that pumps the energy into the KRF or ARF gas.

Final amplifier of the Nike laser where laser beam energy is increased from 150 J to ~5 kJ by passing through a krypton/fluorine/argon gas mixture excited by irradiation with two opposing 670,000 volt electron beams.
The Electra Laser at NRL demonstrated over 90,000 shots in 10 hours; repetition rates needed for an IFE power plant. [ 1 ]
The NIKE laser system starts with a Marx Generator that forms a large voltage pulse. This is applied to a solid state (or magnetic) switch that transfers that energy into a water-filled transmission line. This transmission line is a big metal pipe filled with water or oil that contains the current. The pipe includes pressure release valves in case there is a short/vaporization event inside the line. This current is passed to a plasma-based laser switch. A laser beam passes across the plasma switch, which induces streams of electrons to strike an emitter plate that pumps the energy into the KRF or ARF gas.
Nike laser final mirror array and lens array that direct the laser beams onto target.