Laser Beam Data Files

Several types of laser beam parameters can be imported from and/or exported to data files:

Data displayed in the Laser Beam Summary Table can be written to a comma-separated values (*.csv) data file. To do this, select the Export Data button in the Laser Beam Summary Dialog. Contents of the file are the table data, as they are displayed in the table. Only beams shown in the table are written to the file, and the order is the same as that in the table display.

CSV-formatted files can be edited by common spreadsheet software (e.g., Excel), and imported back into VISRAD. These files may contain laser beam pointing parameters defined in two ways:

If both types of pointing data are contained in the file, the user is prompted to select which set of parameters to use. This approach allows users to enter beam pointing data using spreadsheet software and import the data into VISRAD.

CSV-formatted files containing laser beam powers versus time for each beam can be imported into VISRAD. For format of the data files is shown below:

time (ns)	BN-1	BN-2	BN-3	BN-4
t-1	P(i,j)	P(i,j)	P(i,j)	P(i,j)
t-2	P(i,j)	P(i,j)	P(i,j)	P(i,j)
t-3	P(i,j)	P(i,j)	P(i,j)	P(i,j)
t-4	P(i,j)	P(i,j)	P(i,j)	P(i,j)

where t-i are the times (in nsec), P(i,j) are the beam powers in TW, and the column headers are the beam names (e.g., B115 for NIF, Beam_10 for OMEGA, etc.). (Note that for NIF, "BL" can be used in place of "B" for the beam name.)

For additional information, see Importing Time-Dependent Beam Powers.

Laser Beam Energy Data Files

TSV- and CSV-formatted files containing laser beam energies for each beam can be imported into VISRAD. For format of the data files is shown below:

Beam	col-1	col-2	col-3	col-4
BN-1	E(i,j)	E(i,j)	E(i,j)	E(i,j)
BN-2	E(i,j)	E(i,j)	E(i,j)	E(i,j)
BN-3	E(i,j)	E(i,j)	E(i,j)	E(i,j)
BN-4	E(i,j)	E(i,j)	E(i,j)	E(i,j)

where BN-n are the beam names (e.g., B115 for NIF, Beam_10 for OMEGA, etc.), E(i,j) are the beam energies in kJ, and col-n are the column headers. Besides the beam names, only one column is read in during import.

For additional information, see Importing Beam Energies.

XML-formatted files for the NIF CMT database can be imported into VISRAD. To import the data, select the File | Import Laser Beam Data | Pointing Data menu item.

CSV-formatted files for NIF laser beam pointings can be exported. To export the data, select the File | Export Laser Beam Data | NIF SST Beam Data menu item.

The file lists each beam with its pointing position (Cartesian x,y,z with respect to TCC) and the beam defocus. The position corresponds to that without the defocus applied.

Ascii-formatted laser beam data can be exported for use in setting up calculations for the FLASH hydrodynamics code. To export the data, select the File | Export Laser Beam Data | FLASH Beam Data menu item. By default, data is written to a file with a *.dat extension.