Streaked extreme ultraviolet imaging of the motion of low-Z foam buffered indirectly driven intermediate and high-Z payloads

Journal Article · Wed Mar 15 00:00:00 EST 2006 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2183749· OSTI ID:20782562

Pasley, J; Nilson, P; Willingale, L; Haines, M G; Notley, M; Tolley, M; Neely, D; Nazarov, W; Willi, O ^[1]

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1. Plasma Physics Group, Imperial College London, Blackett Laboratory, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2BZ (United Kingdom)

Results of experiments conducted at the Central Laser Facility (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory), illustrating the efficacy of utilizing a combination of transonic and subsonic ablation to increase the impulse delivered to an indirectly driven payload, are reported. Extreme ultraviolet imaging has been utilized to map the trajectory of the rear surface of an accelerating payload driven by a hohlraum with a peak energy-density-equivalent radiation temperature of around 130 eV. Payloads comprising an approximately 30-{mu}m-thick solid-density plastic foil doped with chlorine, both with and without a gold flashing on the driver-facing surface, were accelerated by a combination of subsonic x-ray ablation of the rear surface of the payload and either subsonic, transonic, or supersonic ablation in a hohlraum facing low-density foam layer in intimate contact with the payload. Two different thicknesses of foam layer were incorporated in the experiment -- 150 and 200 {mu}m -- in addition to a range of different foam densities from 30 to 100 mg/cc. It was observed that the maximum impulse was delivered in the case where the ablation wave propagation was approximately transonic in the foam layer. In such cases the impulse delivered to the payload was significantly greater than that achieved by direct (subsonic) ablation of the payload.

• OSTI ID: 20782562
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 13, Issue 3; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2183749; (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ABLATION
CHLORINE
DENSITY
DOPED MATERIALS
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
ENERGY DENSITY
EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
FOAMS
ION TEMPERATURE
LASER-PRODUCED PLASMA
LASERS
LAYERS
LIGHT TRANSMISSION
PLASMA DIAGNOSTICS
PLASMA HEATING
PLASTICS
PULSES
SURFACES
WAVE PROPAGATION
X RADIATION
X-RAY SOURCES