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Nuclear Fusion

An Imaging Science Case Study

Nuclear Fusion Diagnostics - Doug Peterson

Executive Summary

I delivered specialized film digitization solutions for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore and the Z Pulsed Power Facility at Sandia National Laboratories, enabling critical scientific measurement capabilities for high-energy physics experiments.

Some details of this project are covered by NDA or national security restrictions. However, a publicly available article from researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is available here.

To support testing and use of our product at Sandia National Laboratories, I led the development of the DT Trans OLT to provide NIST-traceable optical density measurements, with varying levels of tone surround.

Nuclear Fusion Diagnostics - Doug Peterson

Strategic Challenge

National Laboratories needed to replace legacy PDS microdensitometer systems, which could no longer be maintained. A replacement system needed to match the results of the legacy system in order to provide continuity of the scientific data being collected from film-based X-ray diagnostics in high-radiation environments.

Technical Contribution

  • Conducted a comprehensive evaluation of imaging quality requirements for nuclear fusion research centers

  • Engineered custom version of our high-precision film digitization platform tailored to scientific measurement workflows

  • Developed specialized NIST-traceable calibration target to validate measurement accuracy

  • Designed custom software pipeline integrating with laboratory data analysis systems

  • Demonstrated that our solution could reconstruct X-ray exposures within ~10% of legacy systems while significantly improving acquisition speed

This solution modernized critical scientific infrastructure while ensuring measurement continuity for national security research programs.

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