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At least 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

First observations from the Kr multi-monochromatic x-ray imager for time and spatially resolved diagnosis of hot implosion cores

This paper presents initial findings from the recently deployed Kr multi-monochromatic x-ray imager (Kr MMI) at the Omega laser facility. The experiment focuses on exploring implosion dynamics in exploding pusher capsules at three distinct initial gas fill densities. Utilizing time-gated and spatially integrated measurements, core size, electron temperature (Te), and electron densities (ne) are extracted through the analysis of the spectral region encompassing the Kr He α and its satellite lines. A comprehensive spectral database, incorporating atomic kinetics, spectroscopic-quality radiation transport, and Stark broadened line shapes, has been developed for rigorous data analysis. These measurements underscore the utility of the new Kr MMI instrument, which, combined with sophisticated analysis techniques, enables the diagnosis of plasma conditions at Te>2000 eV, thereby extending the capabilities beyond the prior Ar MMI design. This is an important stepping stone for achieving time-gated and space-resolved diagnostics of electron temperature, electron density, and heat transport in high temperature implosion cores.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Fabrication of freeform potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystals by belt-on-wheel polishing for spatially tailored polarization control in high-power lasers

Large-aperture (>30 cm) optical components that provide spatially tailored control of the properties of a laser beam, such as phase, polarization, and amplitude, have been the focus of much research and development in recent years. Such optics can improve energy throughput and target implosion efficiency in high-power laser systems conducting inertial confinement fusion research. Here, a method is demonstrated for fabricating freeform surface topographies into the birefringent crystalline material, potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP). Belt-on-wheel polishing with an oil-based fluid, developed to mitigate the deliquescent properties of KDP, is used to deterministically polish a freeform topography into KDP, enabling the fabrication of a wave plate with spatially arbitrary retardance. Testing of the laser-induced damage threshold of belt-on-wheel polished KDP was conducted at a wavelength of 351 nm and a pulse duration of 1 ns. The results revealed that the polished surfaces are highly resistant to laser-induced damage, making them suitable for large-aperture, high-power laser applications.

Urban, Nathaniel D. [Univ. of Rochester, NY (Unite↗
DOE OSTI2018

On the Problem of Thermonuclear Ignition and Burning in the NIF Laser: Ignition with Capsules Taking into Account the Influence of the Hohlraum Radiation on Implosion

One of the significant problems of modern physics is the creation and use of new energy sources. The decisive step in this direction is the realization of a positive yield in thermonuclear energy on a laboratory scale with the facilities that create and retain plasma. Between 2010 and 2017, a large series of experiments were performed at the National Ignition Facility laser at the Livermore Laboratory in the United States with the aim of achieving such a positive outcome. Until now, however, the ignition has not been reached. In this paper, for the first time the influence of the hohlraum radiation on capsule layers including a deuterium–tritium layer is discussed. It is shown that the negative influence of the ablator transparency can be compensated for by the selection of a capsule design with a greater optical thickness of the part of the ablator. This part of the ablator is not evaporated upon heating by an X-ray pulse. The design of such a capsule is proposed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

Asymmetrically driven implosions

Techniques to achieve uniform near-spherical symmetry of radiation drive on a capsule in a laser-heated hohlraum have received detailed attention in the context of inertial confinement fusion. However, much less attention has been paid to the understanding of the hohlraum physics in cases where the radiation drive departs significantly from spherical symmetry. A series of experiments has been carried out to study the implosion dynamics of a capsule irradiated by a deliberately asymmetric x-ray drive. The experimental data provide a sensitive test of radiation transport in hohlraums in which drive symmetry is modulated by asymmetric laser beam timing and the use of wall materials of different albedos. Data from foam ball and thin-shell capsule experiments are presented together with modeling using consecutively linked Lagrangian and Eulerian calculational schemes. The thin-shell capsules exhibit much stronger sensitivity to early-time asymmetry than do the foam balls, and this sensitivity results in the formation of a well-defined polar jet. These data are shown to challenge computational modeling in this highly asymmetric convergent regime. All of the experiments detailed were carried out at the OMEGA laser facility [J. M. Soures, R. L. McCrory, C. P. Verdon et al., Phys. Plasmas 3, 2108 (1996)] at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics in Rochester, NY.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

OMEGA polar-drive target designs

Low-adiabat polar-drive (PD) [Skupsky et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 2763 (2004)] implosion designs for the OMEGA [Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] laser are described. These designs for cryogenic deuterium-tritium and warm plastic shells use a temporal laser pulse shape with three pickets followed by a main pulse [Goncharov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 165001 (2010)]. The designs are at two different on-target laser intensities, with different in-flight aspect ratios (IFARs). These designs permit studies of implosion energetics and target performance closer to ignition-relevant intensities ({approx}7 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 14} W/cm{sup 2} at the quarter-critical surface, where nonlocal heat conduction and laser-plasma interactions can play an important role) but at lower values of IFAR {approx} 22 or at lower intensity ({approx}3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 14} W/cm{sup 2}) but at a higher IFAR (IFAR {approx} 32, where shell instability can play an important role). PD geometry requires repointing of laser beams to improve shell symmetry. The higher-intensity designs optimize target performance by repointing beams to a lesser extent, compensating for the reduced equatorial drive by increasing the energies of the repointed beams. They also use custom beam profiles that improve equatorial illumination at the expense of irradiation at higher latitudes. These latter designs will be studied when new phase plates for the OMEGA Laser System, corresponding to the custom beam profiles, are obtained.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

Pulse-dilation enhanced gated optical imager with 5 ps resolution (invited)

A 5 ps gated framing camera was demonstrated using the pulse-dilation of a drifting electron signal. The pulse-dilation is achieved by accelerating a photoelectron derived information pulse with a time varying potential [R. D. Prosser, J. Phys. E 9, 57 (1976)]. The temporal dependence of the accelerating potential causes a birth time dependent axial velocity dispersion that spreads the pulse as it transits a drift region. The expanded pulse is then imaged with a conventional gated microchannel plate based framing camera and the effective gating time of the combined instrument is reduced over that of the framing camera alone. In the drift region, electron image defocusing in the transverse or image plane is prevented with a large axial magnetic field. Details of the unique issues associated with rf excited photocathodes were investigated numerically and a prototype instrument based on this principle was recently constructed. Temporal resolution of the instrument was measured with a frequency tripled femtosecond laser operating at 266 nm. The system demonstrated 20x temporal magnification and the results are presented here. X-ray image formation strategies and photometric calculations for inertial confinement fusion implosion experiments are also examined.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2011

The potential role of electric fields and plasma barodiffusion on the inertial confinement fusion database

The generation of strong, self-generated electric fields (GV/m) in direct-drive, inertial-confinement-fusion (ICF) capsules has been reported [Rygg et al., Science 319, 1223 (2008); Li et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 225001 (2008)]. A candidate explanation for the origin of these fields based on charge separation across a plasma shock front was recently proposed [Amendt et al., Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 51 124048 (2009)]. The question arises whether such electric fields in imploding capsules can have observable consequences on target performance. Two well-known anomalies come to mind: (1) an observed {approx_equal}2x greater-than-expected deficit of neutrons in an equimolar D{sup 3}He fuel mixture compared with hydrodynamically equivalent D [Rygg et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 052702 (2006)] and DT [Herrmann et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 056312 (2009)] fuels, and (2) a similar shortfall of neutrons when trace amounts of argon are mixed with D in indirect-drive implosions [Lindl et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 339 (2004)]. A new mechanism based on barodiffusion (or pressure gradient-driven diffusion) in a plasma is proposed that incorporates the presence of shock-generated electric fields to explain the reported anomalies. For implosions performed at the Omega laser facility [Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)], the (low Mach number) return shock has an appreciable scale length over which the lighter D ions can diffuse away from fuel center. The depletion of D fuel is estimated and found to lead to a corresponding reduction in neutrons, consistent with the anomalies observed in experiments for both argon-doped D fuels and D{sup 3}He equimolar mixtures. The reverse diffusional flux of the heavier ions toward fuel center also increases the pressure from a concomitant increase in electron number density, resulting in lower stagnation pressures and larger imploded cores in agreement with gated, self-emission, x-ray imaging data.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Numerical simulation of thin-shell direct drive DHe3-filled capsules fielded at OMEGA

Thin-shell deuterium-helium-3 (DHe{sup 3}) filled glass capsules on the Omega laser provide a fast-implosion experimental platform for developing separate time-resolved measurements of ion, electron, and radiation temperatures in nonequilibrium plasmas. Dynamically significant non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) conditions are created by the addition of xenon dopant to the DHe{sup 3} gas fill, in quantities sufficient to have an impact on yields, compression, and cooling rates. The high-Z dopant dramatically increases the radiative cooling rate in the plasma, allowing it to collapse in compressions that can be an order of magnitude higher than in undoped capsules. A baseline LASNEX simulation model using detailed configuration accounting NLTE atomic physics shows very good agreement with the data for doped as well as undoped capsules, while other models either underpredict or overpredict the radiative cooling enhancement. The baseline model captures the behavior of the capsule when the D:He{sup 3} ratio is varied well away from equimolar, suggesting no yield anomaly with either nearly pure deuterium or He{sup 3} fills. Variation of the electron-ion coupling in the baseline simulation model shows agreement with the data for a coupling multiplier that is within 20% of unity. Reliably inferring electron-ion coupling strength from the data is complicated by uncertainties in the hydrodynamic mix and other parameters, but many of these can be mitigated in follow-on experiments at the National Ignition Facility.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Full-wave and ray-based modeling of cross-beam energy transfer between laser beams with distributed phase plates and polarization smoothing

Radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments rely on ray-based cross-beam energy transfer (CBET) models to calculate laser energy deposition. The ray-based models assume locally plane-wave laser beams and polarization averaged incoherence between laser speckles for beams with polarization smoothing. The impact of beam speckle and polarization smoothing on crossbeam energy transfer (CBET) are studied using the 3-D wave-based laser-plasma-interaction code LPSE . The results indicate that ray-based models under predict CBET when the assumption of spatially averaged longitudinal incoherence across the CBET interaction region is violated. A model for CBET between linearly-polarized speckled beams is presented that uses ray tracing to solve for the real speckle pattern of the unperturbed laser beams within the eikonal approximation and gives excellent agreement with the wavebased calculations. Lastly, OMEGA-scale 2-D LPSE calculations using ICF relevant plasma conditions suggest that the impact of beam speckle on laser absorption calculations in ICF implosions is small (< 1%).

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Density reconstruction in convergent high-energy-density systems using x-ray radiography and Bayesian inference

X-ray radiography is a technique frequently used to diagnose convergent high-energy-density (HED) systems, such as inertial confinement fusion implosion, and provides unique information that is not available through self-emission measurements. In this work, we investigate the scope and limits of that information using a radiography simulation combined with the Bayesian inference workflow. The accuracy of density reconstruction from simulated radiographs of spherical implosions driven with 27 kJ laser energy is assessed, including the increase or decrease in accuracy due to the addition of Lagrangian marker layers, Poisson noise, and improved prior information. This work is the first to present the full uncertainty distributions inferred from radiography analysis in HED systems and demonstrates the importance of constructing the full posterior probability density, as opposed to a point estimate, due to the modal structure of the likelihood surface introduced by typical experimental noise sources. This general methodology can be used both for robust analysis of radiographic data and for an improved design of radiography experiments by modeling the full experimental system.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Spherical compression of an applied magnetic field in inertial confinement fusion

Applying an external magnetic field to laser-driven inertial confinement fusion implosions is a promising approach for enhancing fusion yield. The field is compressed with the plasma, producing a magnetized hotspot that anisotropically suppresses thermal losses and traps alpha particles, making performance sensitive to the compressed field orientation. Here, we derive a simple, readily applicable analytic model that enables rapid evaluation of the compressed field topology and show that ablation into the hotspot amplifies the central field, while the ablated ice near the hotspot edge develops a decaying, radially bent field, with a discontinuity in the field direction. The radially bent field renders thermal insulation at the hotspot edge negligible and largely independent of the applied field strength, whereas insulation in the hotspot core still depends strongly on the applied field. Applying the model to non-axial initial field configurations, we find that an initially applied mirror field provides the greatest suppression, followed by the standard axial field.

Physics - Plasma physics↗
DOE OSTI2014

Implosion Dynamics in Direct-Drive Experiments

Increasing the ablation pressure is a path to achieving cryogenic implosion performance on the OMEGA laser that will hydrodynamically scale to ignition on the National Ignition Facility. An increased ablation pressure will allow a more-massive shell (i.e. thicker and more hydrodynamically stable) and a higher adiabat to achieve ignition-relevant velocities (>3.5 × 10⁷ cm s⁻¹), areal densities (>300 mg cm⁻²) and hot-spot pressures (>100 Gbar). Two approaches have demonstrated increased ablation pressure: (1) a target design is shown that uses a Be ablator to increase the hydrodynamic efficiency, resulting in a ~10% increase in the ablation pressure, in comparison to a CH ablator; (2) reducing the beam size is shown to recover all of the ablation pressure lost to cross-beam energy transfer (CBET), i.e. the ablation pressure calculated without CBET, but the degraded illumination uniformity reduces the integrated target performance. The hydrodynamic efficiency is measured for the current cryogenic design, multiple ablator material design and CH capsule designs with various beam focal-spot sizes. In each case, an excellent agreement is observed with 1D hydrodynamic simulations that include CBET and nonlocal heat-transport models.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Two-plasmon decay mitigation in direct-drive inertial-confinement-fusion experiments using multilayer targets

Multilayer direct-drive inertial-confinement-fusion (ICF) targets are shown to significantly reduce two-plasmon-decay (TPD) driven hot-electron production while maintaining high hydrodynamic efficiency. Implosion experiments on the OMEGA Laser used targets with silicon layered between an inner beryllium and outer silicon-doped plastic ablator. A factor of five reduction in hot-electron generation (> 50 keV) was observed in the multilayer targets relative to pure CH targets. Three-dimensional simulations of the TPD driven hot-electron production using a laser-plasma interaction code (LPSE) that includes nonlinear and kinetic effects show excellent agreement with the measurements. As a result, the simulations suggest that the reduction in hot-electron production observed in the multilayer targets is primarily due to increased electron-ion collisional damping.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Principal factors in performance of indirect-drive laser fusion experiments

Progress in inertial confinement fusion depends on the accurate interpretation of experiments that are complex and difficult to explain with simulations. Results could depend on small changes in the laser pulse or target or physics that are not fully understood or characterized. In this paper we discuss an x-ray-driven platform [K. Baker et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 135001 (2018)] with fewer sources of degradation, and find the fusion yield can be described as a physically motivated function of laser energy, target scale, and implosion symmetry. This platform and analysis could enable a more experimental approach to the study and optimization of implosion physics.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

On the importance of minimizing “coast-time” in x-ray driven inertially confined fusion implosions

By the time an inertially confined fusion (ICF) implosion has converged a factor of 20, its surface area has shrunk 400×, making it an inefficient x-ray energy absorber. So, ICF implosions are traditionally designed to have the laser drive shut off at a time, toff, well before bang-time, tBT, for a coast-time of tcoast=tBT−toff>1 ns. High-foot implosions on NIF showed a strong dependence of many key ICF performance quantities on reduced coast-time (by extending the duration of laser power after the peak power is first reached), most notably stagnation pressure and fusion yield. Herein we show that the ablation pressure, pabl, which drives high-foot implosions, is essentially triangular in temporal shape, and that reducing tcoast boosts pabl by as much as ∼2× prior to stagnation thus increasing fuel and hot-spot compression and implosion speed. One-dimensional simulations are used to track hydrodynamic characteristics for implosions with various coast-times and various assumed rates of hohlraum cooling after toff to illustrate how the late-time conditions exterior to the implosion can impact the fusion performance. A simple rocket model-like analytic theory demonstrates that reducing coast-time can lead to a ∼15% higher implosion velocity because the reduction in x-ray absorption efficiency at late-time is somewhat compensated by small (∼5%−10%) ablator mass remaining. Together with the increased ablation pressure, the additional implosion speed for short coast-time implosions can boost the stagnation pressure by ∼2× as compared to a longer coast-time version of the same implosion. Four key dimensionless parameters are identified and we find that reducing coast-time to as little as 500 ps still provides some benefit. Finally, we show how the high-foot implosion data is consistent with the above mentioned picture.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effect of Strongly Magnetized Electrons and Ions on Heat Flow and Symmetry of Inertial Fusion Implosions

This Letter presents the first observation on how a strong, 500 kG, externally applied B field increases the mode-two asymmetry in shock-heated inertial fusion implosions. Using a direct-drive implosion with polar illumination and imposed field, we observed that magnetization produces a significant increase in the implosion oblateness (a 2.5 × larger P2 amplitude in x-ray self-emission images) compared with reference experiments with identical drive but with no field applied. Here, the implosions produce strongly magnetized electrons (ω e τ e >> 1) and ions (ω i τ i > 1) that, as shown using simulations, restrict the cross field heat flow necessary for lateral distribution of the laser and shock heating from the implosion pole to the waist, causing the enhanced mode-two shape.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

High-yield implosion modeling using the Frustraum: Assessing and controlling the formation of polar jets and enhancing implosion performance with applied magnetization

Frustraums have a higher laser-to-capsule x-ray radiation coupling efficiency and can accommodate a large capsule, thus potentially generating a higher yield with less laser energy than cylindrical Hohlraums for a given Hohlraum volume [Amendt et al., Phys. Plasmas 26, 082707 (2019]. Frustraums are expected to have less m = 4 azimuthal asymmetries arising from the intrinsic inner-laser-beam geometry on the National Ignition Facility. An experimental campaign at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to demonstrate the high-coupling efficiency and radiation symmetry tuning of the Frustraum has been under way since 2021. Simulations benchmarked against experimental data show that implosions using Frustraums can achieve more yield with higher ignition margins than cylindrical Hohlraums using the same laser energy. Hydrodynamic jets in capsules along the Hohlraum axis, driven by radiation-flux asymmetries in a Hohlraum with a gold liner on a depleted uranium (DU) wall, are present around stagnation, and these “polar” jets can cause severe yield degradation. The early-time Legendre mode P4<0 radiation-flux asymmetry is a leading cause of these jets, which can be reduced by using an unlined DU Hohlraum because the shape of the shell is predicted to be more prolate. Magnetization can increase the implosion robustness and reduce the required hotspot ρR for ignition; therefore, magnetizing the Frustraum can maintain the same yield while reducing the required laser energy or increase the yield using the same laser energy—all under the constraint that the ignition margin is preserved. Reducing polar jets is particularly important for magnetized implosions because of the intrinsic toroidal hotspot ion temperature topology.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Measuring symmetry of implosions in cryogenic Hohlraums at the NIF using gated x-ray detectors (invited)

Ignition of imploding inertial confinement capsules requires, among other things, controlling the symmetry with high accuracy and fidelity. We have used gated x-ray imaging, with 10 {mu}m and 70 ps resolution, to detect the x-ray emission from the imploded core of symmetry capsules at the National Ignition Facility. The measurements are used to characterize the time dependent symmetry and the x-ray bang time of the implosion from two orthogonal directions. These measurements were one of the primary diagnostics used to tune the parameters of the laser and Hohlraum to vary the symmetry and x-ray bang time of the implosion of cryogenically cooled ignition scale deuterium/helium filled plastic capsules. Here, we will report on the successful measurements performed with up to 1.2 MJ of laser energy in a fully integrated cryogenics gas-filled ignition-scale Hohlraum and capsule illuminated with 192 smoothed laser beams. We will describe the technique, the accuracy of the technique, and the results of the variation in symmetry with tuning parameters, and explain how that set was used to predictably tune the implosion symmetry as the laser energy, the laser cone wavelength separation, and the Hohlraum size were increased to ignition scales. We will also describe how to apply that technique to cryogenically layered tritium-hydrogen-deuterium capsules.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗