Middlefield technology maker Zygo Corp. says it received a $3 million French order to continue supplying laser fusion amplifiers for ongoing research tied to the country’s nuclear weapons industry.
The order from the Commission for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies (CEA) is to support research underway on the experimental Laser Mégajoule (LMJ) being built near Bordeaux, France, Zygo said.
The LMJ is France’s version of an inertial confinement fusion device the U.S. operates at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
“As the largest volume manufacturer of meter class laser fusion optics in the world, we are proud to be part of the CEA Mégajoule program,” said John Stack, President of the Optical Systems Division. “Zygo’s ability to volume manufacture large, very high precision optics continues to be one of our core strengths in the defense, research and semiconductor market places.”
The CEA order is part of an ongoing contract started in 2007 and is anticipated to run through 2014.
LMJ is one of many laser fusion programs around the world that Zygo says it continues to supply both product and new manufacturing technologies.
