Plated Copper Substrates for the LASL Antares CO sub 2 Laser System

摘要

Antares is a large carbon-dioxide laser system presently under construction at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL). Antares will be part of the LASL High Energy Gas Laser Facility (HEGLF). Its purpose will be to investigate inertial confinement fusion with light of 10.6- mu m wavelength. Most of the optics comprising Antares will be reflectors and, for many reasons, copper is the material of choice. The mirrors range in size from 2.5 cm in diameter to 45 cm in diameter. The copper must be very pure to help maximize damage threshold, making plated copper an attractive solution. The final mirror should be very stable, i.e., characterized by very low microcreep. This makes an alloy a more suitable substrate candidate than pure copper. For Antares, all of the smaller mirrors will be made of copper plated onto an aluminum-bronze substrate, and all of the larger mirrors will be made of copper plated onto aluminum alloy 2124. This paper discusses how this design was arrived at and the methods used to assure a satisfactory mirror. (ERA citation 04:024252)