Stephen D. Jacobs Memorial Talk - Dr. Tayyab Suratwala, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Optics for High Power & Energy Lasers

Dr. Tayyab Suratwala, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Abstract

High power & energy lasers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) demand optics with greater precision, functionality, and especially survivability. In the following presentation, an overview of the optics development efforts and their use in these lasers systems will be discussed. Special emphasis will be given on the reduction & management of laser damage on optics in the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser enabling higher cumulative power & energy laser shots as well as on the latest research & development on the fabrication of freeform optics to enable novel future laser designs.

This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

About the speaker

Tayyab Suratwala has been at LLNL for the last 24 years and is currently the Program Director for Optics and Materials Science & Technology (OMST) in the NIF & Photon Science Directorate. Tayyab earned a B.S. in Ceramic Engineering from the U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1992 and a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from the U. of Arizona in 1996. His research interests include: grinding and polishing, deterministic finishing, laser damage initiation and growth, chemical and thermal based mitigation of damage precursors and damage sites, fracture behavior in glasses and ceramics, slow crack growth, glass chemistry, optical properties of glasses, and sol-gel chemistry. Tayyab has 100+ peer reviewed publications including 8 patents/patent applications, 4 R&D100 awards, and 2 books/book chapters. Tayyab is a Fellow of Optica. For more information visit: https://people.llnl.gov/suratwala1

LLE COVID policy

Surgical, N-95 or KN-95 masks are required in LLE facilities.  Individuals coming to the meeting will need to fill out a COVID Health Screening questionnaire which will be given out when they arrive. Disinfectant wipes will be available for attendee use.