SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES

Pulsed Power Technology

Pulsed Power Technology (PPT) is used to generate and apply energetic beams and high-power energy pulses. It is distinguished by the development of repetitive pulsed power technologies, x-ray and energetic beam sources, and electromagnetic and radiation hydrodynamic codes for a wide variety of applications. PPT is used to advance Sandia's mission area of Nuclear Weapons.

Z Accelerator

Z is the world's most efficient (15%) and powerful laboratory x-ray source. A five-year project to refurbish Z is expected to be completed in 2007, which should make x-ray energies of nearly three million joules and x-ray powers exceeding 300 trillion watts possible.

Z-Backlighter Laser

The Z-Backlighter Laser (ZBL) is the third largest pulsed laser in the world. It provides x-ray images of imploding capsules and wire-array dynamics on Z experiments. The facility includes the Z-Beamlet and Optics Support Facility (OSF). Z-Beamlet is a large aperture, high energy laser. The lasers primary mission is to radiograph experiments at the adjacent Z accelerator facility. Z-Beamlet was originally built as a prototype for the NIF at LLNL.

The OSF

Hermes III Accelerator

The High-Energy Radiation Megavolt Electron Source (HERMES) III accelerator is the world's most powerful gamma-ray simulator.

RHEPP I

Sandia's Repetitive High-Energy Pulsed Power (RHEPP) I facility is a test-bed for developing ion beam technologies.

RITS Accelerator

The Radiographic Integrated Test Stand (RITS) accelerator has been built as a test bed for research and development of pulsed power drivers and radiographic diodes.

Saturn Accelerator (Building 981)

The Saturn accelerator is a modular, high-power, variable-spectrum, x-ray simulation source. This particle beam fusion accelerator facility provides threat-level x-ray effects testing and experiments on complex electronic systems, such as reentry body arming, fuzing, and firing assemblies, with high spectral and temporal fidelity. Saturn also provides high temperature, large volume hohlraums and other cold x-ray environments for weapon physics experiments supporting the stockpile stewardship program. Saturn is used to simulate the radiation effects of nuclear countermeasures on electronic and material components, as a pulsed-power and radiation source, and as a diagnostic test bed.