Ion microtomography and particle‐induced x‐ray emission analysis of direct drive inertial confinement fusion targets

Abstract

The complementary techniques of ion microtomography (IMT) and particle‐induced x‐ray emission (PIXE) are used to provide submicron‐scale characterization of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) targets for density uniformity, sphericity, and trace‐element spatial distributions. ICF target quality control in the laser fusion program is important to ensure that the energy deposition from the lasers results in uniform compression and minimization of Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities. We obtain 1% total electron density determinations using IMT with spatial resolution approaching 2 μm. Utilizing PIXE, we can map out dopant and impurity distributions with elemental detection sensitivities on the order of a few parts per million. We present examples of ICF target characterization by IMT and PIXE in order to demonstrate their potential impact in assessing target fabrication processes.