Upgrade of the LLNL Nova laser for inertial confinement fusion

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has proposed construction of an upgrade to the Nova glass laser facility to give an output energy of 1.5-2 megajoules at 350 nanometers wavelength in a nominally 3-5 nanosecond shaped pulse. The Nova Upgrade will be suitable for driving inertial fusion targets to ignition. This paper reviews the design proposed for the laser.