Using high-intensity laser-generated energetic protons to radiograph directly driven implosions

Journal Article · Sun Jan 15 00:00:00 EST 2012 · Review of Scientific Instruments

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3680110· OSTI ID:22063775

Zylstra, A B; Li, C K; Rinderknecht, H G; Seguin, F H; Petrasso, R D ^[1]; Stoeckl, C; Meyerhofer, D D; Nilson, P; Sangster, T C ^[2]; Le Pape, S; Mackinnon, A; Patel, P ^[3]

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1. Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)
2. Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623 (United States)
3. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)

The recent development of petawatt-class lasers with kilojoule-picosecond pulses, such as OMEGA EP [L. Waxer et al., Opt. Photonics News 16, 30 (2005)], provides a new diagnostic capability to study inertial-confinement-fusion (ICF) and high-energy-density (HED) plasmas. Specifically, petawatt OMEGA EP pulses have been used to backlight OMEGA implosions with energetic proton beams generated through the target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) mechanism. This allows time-resolved studies of the mass distribution and electromagnetic field structures in ICF and HED plasmas. This principle has been previously demonstrated using Vulcan to backlight six-beam implosions [A. J. Mackinnon et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 045001 (2006)]. The TNSA proton backlighter offers better spatial and temporal resolution but poorer spatial uniformity and energy resolution than previous D{sup 3}He fusion-based techniques [C. Li et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 77, 10E725 (2006)]. A target and the experimental design technique to mitigate potential problems in using TNSA backlighting to study full-energy implosions is discussed. The first proton radiographs of 60-beam spherical OMEGA implosions using the techniques discussed in this paper are presented. Sample radiographs and suggestions for troubleshooting failed radiography shots using TNSA backlighting are given, and future applications of this technique at OMEGA and the NIF are discussed.

• OSTI ID: 22063775
• Journal Information: Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 83, Issue 1; Other Information: (c) 2012 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0034-6748
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS
ENERGY DENSITY
ENERGY RESOLUTION
ICF DEVICES
IMAGES
IMPLOSIONS
INERTIAL CONFINEMENT
ION BEAM TARGETS
OMEGA FACILITY
PLASMA DENSITY
PLASMA SHEATH
PROTON BEAMS
PROTON RADIOGRAPHY
TIME RESOLUTION
US NATIONAL IGNITION FACILITY