Abstract
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) has begun a new experimental project for developingfusion. This new project utilizes cryogenic shrouds that encase the target before shots, and they open a few seconds before the shot occurs. The motion of the shrouds opening causes the target to be displaced in multiple axes. Measurements have been taken to determine the target’s changed in the past, though more measurements are desired to be taken in greater accuracy. Alignment for the nuclear experiments requires a high accuracy and precision, by which the alignments of the target to laser pathway must be within a predetermined allotted error within a few dozen microns. By measuring with an interferometric displacement sensor, or interferometer, that provides high resolution, this project tests the ability to measure the target with micron and submicron accuracy. By determining the target’s displacement coordinates more accurately, solutions to employing the shrouds in the experiment can be developed in either redesigns or realignments in preparation for the displacement can be carried out to produce successful shots. This experiment found the target displaced an average of -3.94 microns in the x-axis, 90.36 microns in the y-axis, and the vibrational frequency would fluctuate greatly throughout the experiment. While these values were found to be considerably different from previous measurement experiments, the work of this thesis proved that submicron measurements can be measured accurately.