Laser-plasma interactions in large gas-filled hohlraums

Abstract

Indirect-drive targets planned for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser consist of spherical fuel capsules enclosed in cylindrical Au hohlraums. Laser beams, arranged in cylindrical rings, heat the inside of the Au wall to produce x rays that in turn heat and implode the capsule to produce fusion conditions in the fuel. Detailed calculations show that adequate implosion symmetry can be maintained by filling the hohlraum interior with low-density, low-Z gases. The plasma produced from the heated gas provides sufficient pressure to keep the radiating Au surface from expanding excessively. As the laser heats this gas, the gas becomes a relatively uniform plasma with small gradients in velocity and density. Such long-scale-length plasmas can be ideal mediums for stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS). SBS can reflect a large fraction of the incident laser light before it is absorbed by the hohlraum; therefore, it is undesirable in an inertial confinement fusion target. To examine the importance of SBS in NIF targets, the authors used Nova to measure SBS from hohlraums with plasma conditions similar to those predicted for high-gain NIF targets. The plasmas differ from the more familiar exploding foil or solid targets as follows: they are hot (3 keV); they have high electron densities (n{sub e}=10{sup 21}cm{sup {minus}3}); and they are nearly stationary, confined within an Au cylinder, and uniform over large distances (>2 mm). These hohlraums have <3% peak SBS backscatter for an interaction beam with intensities of 1-4 x 10{sup 15} W/cm{sup 2}, a laser wavelength of 0.351{micro}m, f/4 or f/8 focusing optics, and a variety of beam smoothing implementations. Based on these conditions the authors conclude that SBS does not appear to be a problem for NIF targets.