Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Ken Skulina, L-493, P. O. Box 808, Livermore, CA 94550

A -- NATIONAL IGNITION FACILITY (NIF) LOW ATOMIC PROTECTIVE COATINGS FOR TARGET CHAMBER POC Ken Skulina, (510) 422-3190 The University of California (University), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), seeks sources for Low Atomic Number Protective coatings for National Ignition Facility (NIF) Target Chamber The NIF Project will provide a facility that is capable of achieving fusion ignition utilizing solid-state lasers as the energy driver. In this facility, up to 1.8 MJ of energy in 192 laser beams will be focused onto a small target located at the center of a spherical 5 meter radius target chamber; the energy from the laser beams will be deposited in a few billionths of a second. The target will then implode, forcing atomic nuclei to sufficiently high temperatures and density necessary to achieve a miniature fusion reaction A first wall is planned for the interior of the target chamber which will be exposed to high fluences of x-rays, scattered laser light and debris. The baseline design for this first wall consists of plasma or flame sprayed low atomic number coatings, 0.5 - 1.0 mm thick, on removable aluminum panels. One of the main threats to the first wall is the high fluences of x-rays resulting from laser induced fusion. If the bare aluminum wall were to be exposed to these x-ray fluences, several kilograms of material would be vaporized by each laser shot. For this reason, a sacrificial coating is desired for this area. Low atomic numbered materials, especially those with high melting temperatures, are anticipated to be the ideal coatings because of their lower x-ray absorption cross-sections. Materials such as boron or boron carbide are expected to demonstrate the best performance, but other materials such as aluminum oxide or spinel are also under consideration. The protective coatings must also be very adherent, highly dense, and contain less than 1% impurities. At this time, we are seeking potential suppliers of these coatings, with the intention of putting out a Request for Proposal for ~400m2 of coated surfaces in the 1998 time frame. Other coating techniques which demonstrate similar performance and can be scaled to these areas will also be considered. We are also interested in examining monolithic panels of similar materials (e.g. hot pressed),and determining their suitability for our requirements. Firms are invited to respond with an expression of interest in participating in the applications of their protective coatings. The expression should provide a brief description of qualifications and potential applicability of their type of coatings with respect to the foregoing. Facsimile and telephone responses will not be accepted. This notice is to assist the University in determining the potential firms and type of coatings available; no solicitation is currently available. Responses are requested within three weeks of this notice. Please contact Ken Skulina, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory P.O. Box 808, MS L-493, Livermore, Ca. 94550, (510) 422-3190, skulina1@llnl.gov (0303)

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