The targets used in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are plastic capsules roughly 0.5 mm in diameter. The capsules, which typically have wall thicknesses from 20 to 60 p, must possess extraordinary symmetry and concentricity and must have surface finishes of less than 1000 A peak-to-valley variation over surface contours of from 10 to 1...

LLE Review, Volume 96 239 Introduction Polymer optics are typically manufactured by injection molding (thermoplastics, high volume, economical), compression molding (thermosets, higher precision, and larger sizes), or diamond turning. Once formed by these techniques, polymer components are used “as manufactured,” usually without further cold working to improve surface finish or figure. This is ...

Direct analysis of synthetic fibers under ambient conditions is highly desired to identify the polymer, the finishes applied and irregularities that may compromise its performance and value. In this paper, laser ablation electrospray ionization ion mobility time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LAESI-IMS-TOF-MS) was used for the analysis of synthetic polymers and fibers. The key to this analysis wa...