Mitigating damage growth on National Ignition Facility silica optics by shadowing with ablated cone structures

In this work, an update will be provided on the deployment of shadow cone blockers on NIF grating debris shields. These cones have been demonstrated to reduce the fluence in excess of 11 J/cm2 of an incident 351 nm nanosecond-scale pulse to below the growth threshold of most damage sites. Furthermore, shadow cones will be characterized in terms of their transmission reduction and intensification at downstream surfaces, giving insight into the technique’s broader potential applications and limitations.