OMEGA Laser System Research Articles

Improving the hot-spot pressure and demonstrating ignition hydrodynamic equivalence in cryogenic deuterium–tritium implosions on OMEGA

Reaching ignition in direct-drive (DD) inertial confinement fusion implosions requires achieving central pressures in excess of 100 Gbar. The OMEGA laser system [T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] is used to study the physics of implosions that are hydrodynamically equivalent to the ignition designs on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [J. A. Paisner et al., Laser Focus World 30, 75 (1994)]. It is shown that the highest hot-spot pressures (up to 40 Gbar) are achieved in target designs with a fuel adiabat of α ≃ 4, an implosion velocity of 3.8 × 107 cm/s, and a laser intensity of ∼1015 W/cm2. These moderate-adiabat implosions are well understood using two-dimensional hydrocode simulations. The performance of lower-adiabat implosions is significantly degraded relative to code predictions, a common feature between DD implosions on OMEGA and indirect-drive cryogenic implosions on the NIF. Simplified theoretical models are developed to gain physical understanding of the implosion dynamics that dictate the target performance. These models indicate that degradations in the shell density and integrity (caused by hydrodynamic instabilities during the target acceleration) coupled with hydrodynamics at stagnation are the main failure mechanisms in low-adiabat designs. To demonstrate ignition hydrodynamic equivalence in cryogenic implosions on OMEGA, the target-design robustness to hydrodynamic instability growth must be improved by reducing laser-coupling losses caused by cross beam energy transfer.

Measurements of the divergence of fast electrons in laser-irradiated spherical targets

In recent experiments using directly driven spherical targets on the OMEGA laser system, the energy in fast electrons was found to reach ∼1% of the laser energy at an irradiance of ∼1.1 × 1015 W/cm2. The fraction of these fast electrons absorbed in the compressed fuel shell depends on their angular divergence. This paper describes measurements of this divergence deduced from a series of shots where Mo-coated shells of increasing diameter (D) were suspended within an outer CH shell. The intensity of the Mo–Kα line and the hard x-ray radiation were found to increase approximately as ∼D2, indicating wide divergence of the fast electrons. Alternative interpretations of these results (electron scattering, radiation excitation of Kα, and an electric field due to return current) are shown to be unimportant.

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 (∼7 × 1014 W/cm2 at the quarter-critical surface, where nonlocal heat conduction and laser–plasma interactions can play an important role) but at lower values of IFAR ∼ 22 or at lower intensity (∼3 × 1014 W/cm2) but at a higher IFAR (IFAR ∼ 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.

Testing a new NIF neutron time-of-flight detector with a bibenzyl scintillator on OMEGA

A new neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) detector with a bibenzyl crystal as a scintillator has been designed and manufactured for the National Ignition Facility (NIF). This detector will replace a nTOF20-Spec detector with an oxygenated xylene scintillator currently operational on the NIF to improve the areal-density measurements. In addition to areal density, the bibenzyl detector will measure the D-D and D-T neutron yield and the ion temperature of indirect- and direct-drive-implosion experiments. The design of the bibenzyl detector and results of tests on the OMEGA Laser System are presented.

Burning plasmas with ultrashort soft-x-ray flashing

Fast ignition with narrow-band coherent x-ray pulses has been revisited for cryogenic deuterium-tritium (DT) plasma conditions achieved on the OMEGA Laser System. In contrast to using hard-x-rays (hv = 3–6 keV) proposed in the original x-ray fast-ignition proposal, we find that soft-x-ray sources with hv ≈ 500 eV photons can be suitable for igniting the dense DT-plasmas achieved on OMEGA. Two-dimensional radiation–hydrodynamics simulations have identified the break-even conditions for realizing such a “hybrid” ignition scheme (direct-drive compression with soft-x-ray heating) with 50-μm-offset targets: ∼10 ps soft-x-ray pulse (hv ≈ 500 eV) with a total energy of 500–1000 J to be focused into a 10 μm spot-size. A variety of x-ray pulse parameters have also been investigated for optimization. It is noted that an order of magnitude increase in neutron yield has been predicted even with x-ray energy as low as ∼50 J. Scaling this idea to a 1 MJ large-scale target, a gain above ∼30 can be reached with the same soft-x-ray pulse at 1.65 kJ energy. Even though such energetic x-ray sources do not currently exist, we hope that the proposed ignition scheme may stimulate efforts on generating powerful soft-x-ray sources in the near future.

Experimental reduction of laser imprinting and Rayleigh–Taylor growth in spherically compressed, medium-Z-doped plastic targets

The effect of medium-Z doping of plastic ablators on laser imprinting and Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability growth was studied using spherical direct-drive implosions on the OMEGA Laser System [T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1977)]. The targets were spherical plastic (CH) shells, with an outer diameter of 860 μm and a thickness of 22 μm, volume doped with a varied concentration of Si (4.3% and 7.4%) and Ge (3.9%). The targets were imploded with 48 beams with a low-adiabat, triple-picket laser shape pulse with a peak intensity of 4×1014W/cm2, and a pulse duration of 2.5 ns. The shells were x-ray radiographed through a 400 -μm opening in the side of the target. The results show that volumetric impurity doping strongly reduces the shell density modulation and the instability growth rate. The amplitude of the initial imprint is reduced by a factor of 2.5 ± 0.5 for CH[4.3% Si] targets and by a factor of 3 ± 0.5 for CH[7.4% Si] and CH[3.9% Ge] targets. At the end of the acceleration phase, the reduction factor becomes 3 ± 0.5 and 5 ± 0.5, correspondingly. The RT instability growth rate in doped targets is reduced by a factor of 1.5 compared to undoped ones. Simulations using the two-dimensional, radiation-hydrodynamics code draco show good agreement with the measurements.

Inertial Confinement Fusion Using the OMEGA Laser System

The OMEGA laser system is being used to investigate several approaches to inertial confinement fusion: the traditional central-hot-spot (CHS) ignition, fast ignition (FI), and shock ignition (SI). To achieve ignition, CHS requires the highly uniform compression of a solid deuterium-tritium (DT)-layered target on a low adiabat (defined as the ratio of the pressure to the Fermi-degenerate pressure) and with an implosion velocity <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">V</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">imp</sub> ≥ 3.5 × 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">7</sup> cm/s. A laser pulse shape with triple pickets is used to produce this low adiabat by optimally timing multiple shocks launched by the pickets and the main laser. Cryogenic targets that imploded optimally with such pulses have demonstrated near-design compression with an areal density ρ <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">R</i> ~ 290 mg/cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> at <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">V</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">imp</sub> = 3.1 × 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">7</sup> cm/s. These are, by far, the highest DT areal densities demonstrated in the laboratory. SI experiments, where a shock is launched by a picket at the end of the laser pulse into the compressing capsule, have been performed on low-adiabat warm plastic targets. Both yield and areal density improve significantly when a spike is used at the end of the laser pulse, indicating that the energy from the shock is coupled into the compressing target. Integrated FI experiments have begun on the OMEGA/OMEGA EP laser system.

A Freon-filled bubble chamber for neutron detection in inertial confinement fusion experiments

Neutron imaging is one of the main methods used in inertial confinement fusion experiments to measure the core symmetry of target implosions. Previous studies have shown that bubble chambers have the potential to obtain higher resolution images of the targets for a shorter source-to-target distance than typical scintillator arrays. A bubble chamber for neutron imaging with Freon 115 as the active medium was designed and built for the OMEGA laser system. Bubbles resulting from spontaneous nucleation were recorded. Bubbles resulting from neutron-Freon interactions were observed at neutron yields of 10(13) emitted from deuterium-tritium target implosions on OMEGA. The measured column bubble density was too low for neutron imaging on OMEGA but agreed with the model of bubble formation. The recorded data suggest that neutron bubble detectors are a promising technology for the higher neutron yields expected at National Ignition Facility.

Crossed-beam energy transfer in implosion experiments on OMEGA

Radiative hydrodynamic simulations of implosion experiments on the OMEGA laser system [Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] show that energy transfer between crossing laser beams can reduce laser absorption by 10%–20%. A new quantitative model for the crossed-beam energy transfer has been developed, allowing one to simulate the coupling of multiple beams in the expanding corona of implosion targets. Scattered-light and bang-time measurements show good agreement with predictions of this model when nonlocal heat transport is employed. The laser absorption can be increased by narrowing laser beams and/or employing two-color light, which both reduce the crossed-beam energy transfer.

Charge-injection-device performance in the high-energy-neutron environment of laser-fusion experiments

Charge-injection devices (CIDs) are being used to image x rays in laser-fusion experiments on the University of Rochester's OMEGA Laser System. The CID cameras are routinely used up to the maximum neutron yields generated (∼10(14) DT). The detectors are deployed in x-ray pinhole cameras and Kirkpatrick-Baez microscopes. The neutron fluences ranged from ∼10(7) to ∼10(9) neutrons/cm(2) and useful x-ray images were obtained even at the highest fluences. It is intended to use CID cameras at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) as a supporting means of recording x-ray images. The results of this work predict that x-ray images should be obtainable on the NIF at yields up to ∼10(15), depending on distance and shielding.

Progress in cryogenic target implosions on OMEGA

Cryogenic deuterium-tritium targets are imploded on the OMEGA Laser System in a direct-drive configuration. Areal densities of approximately 200 mg/cm2 have been measured with implosion velocities of 3 × 107 cm/s. These implosions are used to study the dynamics of cryogenic target compression and to develop areal-density diagnostics that will be used as part of the ignition campaign on the National Ignition Facility.

Inferring the electron temperature and density of shocked liquid deuterium using inelastic X-ray scattering

An experiment designed to launch laser-ablation-driven shock waves (10 to 70 Mbar) in a planar liquid-deuterium target on the OMEGA Laser System and to diagnose the shocked conditions using inelastic x-ray scattering is described. The electron temperature (Te) is inferred from the Doppler-broadened Compton-downshifted peak of the noncollective (αs = 1kλD > 1) x-ray scattering for Te > TFermi. The electron density (ne) is inferred from the downshifted plasmon peak of the collective (αscatter > 1) x-ray scattering. A cylindrical layer of liquid deuterium is formed in a cryogenic cell with 8-μm-thick polyimide windows. The polyimide ablator is irradiated with peak intensities in the range of 1013 to 1015 W/cm2 and shock waves are launched. Predictions from a 1-D hydrodynamics code show the shocked deuterium has a thickness of ∼0.1 mm with spatially uniform conditions. For the drive intensities under consideration, electron density up to ∼5 × 1023 cm−3 and electron temperature in the range of 10 to 25 eV are predicted. A laser-irradiated saran foil produces Cl Lyαemission. The spectrally resolved x-ray scattering is recorded at 90° for the noncollective scattering and at 40° for the collective scattering with a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) crystal spectrometer and an x-ray framing camera.

Demonstration of the Highest Deuterium-Tritium Areal Density Using Multiple-Picket Cryogenic Designs on OMEGA

The performance of triple-picket deuterium-tritium cryogenic target designs on the OMEGA Laser System [T. R. Boehly, Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] is reported. These designs facilitate control of shock heating in low-adiabat inertial confinement fusion targets. Areal densities up to 300 mg/cm2 (the highest ever measured in cryogenic deuterium-tritium implosions) are inferred in the experiments with an implosion velocity approximately 3x10(7) cm/s driven at peak laser intensities of 8x10(14) W/cm2. Extension of these designs to ignition on the National Ignition Facility [J. A. Paisner, Laser Focus World 30, 75 (1994)] is presented.

The effect of condensates and inner coatings on the performance of vacuum hohlraum targets

Experiments on the OMEGA laser system [Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] using laser-driven vacuum hohlraum targets show distinct differences between cryogenic (<20 K) and warm targets. The cryogenic targets have 15% lower peak radiation temperatures, and the temporal profile of those temperatures is quite different than in warm targets. The cryogenic targets reflect significantly more (3%–7%) of the laser drive than the warm targets (<1%). The temporal and spectral features of the reflected light from the cryogenic targets show a significantly longer duration and more spectral features than the warm hohlraums. Warm hohlraum targets coated with 2 μm of CH replicate the behavior of cryogenic targets. This indicates that the cryogenic hohlraums are affected by the condensation of background gases on the cold hohlraum surface. The most important effect of low-Z material in the hohlraums is that they significantly reduce the x-ray conversion efficiency, resulting in lower hohlraum radiation temperature. The coatings (both CH and condensates) produce long-scale-length, low-Z plasmas that moderately reduce the absorption of laser light in the hohlraums. This causes higher reflectivity and produces hot electrons that generate hard x rays (hν>20 keV), both of which are detrimental to the performance of hohlraum-driven inertial confinement fusion targets.

Neutron yield study of direct-drive, low-adiabat cryogenic D2 implosions on OMEGA laser system

Neutron yields of direct-drive, low-adiabat (α≈2 to 3) cryogenic D2 target implosions on the OMEGA laser system [T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] have been systematically investigated using the two-dimensional (2D) radiation hydrodynamics code DRACO [P. B. Radha et al., Phys. Plasmas 12, 056307 (2005)]. Low-mode (ℓ≤12) perturbations, including initial target offset, ice-layer roughness, and laser-beam power imbalance, were found to be the primary source of yield reduction for thin-shell (5 μm), low-α, cryogenic targets. The 2D simulations of thin-shell implosions track experimental measurements for different target conditions and peak laser intensities ranging from 2.5×1014–6×1014 W/cm2. Simulations indicate that the fusion yield is sensitive to the relative phases between the target offset and the ice-layer perturbations. The results provide a reasonable good guide to understanding the yield degradation in direct-drive, low-adiabat, cryogenic, thin-shell-target implosions. Thick-shell (10 μm) implosions generally give lower yield over clean than low-ℓ-mode DRACO simulation predictions. Simulations including the effect of laser-beam nonuniformities indicate that high-ℓ-mode perturbations caused by laser imprinting further degrade the neutron yield of thick-shell implosions. To study ICF compression physics, these results suggest a target specification with a ≤30 μm offset and ice-roughness of σrms<3 μm are required.

Rayleigh-Taylor Growth Measurements in the Acceleration Phase of Spherical Implosions on OMEGA

The Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) growth of 3D broadband nonuniformities was measured using x-ray radiography in spherical plastic shells accelerated by laser light at an intensity of approximately 2 x 10(14) W/cm(2). The 20- and 24-microm-thick spherical shells were imploded with 54 beams on the OMEGA laser system. The shells contained diagnostic openings for backlighter x rays used to image shell modulations. The measured shell trajectories and modulation RT growth were in fair agreement with 2D hydro simulations during the acceleration phase of the implosions with convergence ratios of up to approximately 2.2. Since the ignition designs rely on these simulations, improvements in the numerical codes will be implemented to achieve better agreement with experiments.

Plasma-Density Determination from X-Ray Radiography of Laser-Driven Spherical Implosions

The fuel layer density of an imploding laser-driven spherical shell is inferred from framed x-ray radiographs. The density distribution is determined by using Abel inversion to compute the radial distribution of the opacity kappa from the observed optical depth tau. With the additional assumption of the mass of the remaining fuel, the absolute density distribution is determined. This is demonstrated on the OMEGA laser system with two x-ray backlighters of different mean energies that lead to the same inferred density distribution independent of backlighter energy.

Al 1 s - 2 p absorption spectroscopy of shock-wave heating and compression in laser-driven planar foil

Time-resolved Al 1s-2p absorption spectroscopy is used to diagnose direct-drive, shock-wave heating and compression of planar targets having nearly Fermi-degenerate plasma conditions (Te∼10–40 eV, ρ∼3–11 g/cm3) on the OMEGA Laser System [T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)]. A planar plastic foil with a buried Al tracer layer was irradiated with peak intensities of 1014–1015 W/cm2 and probed with the pseudocontinuum M-band emission from a point-source Sm backlighter in the range of 1.4–1.7 keV. The laser ablation process launches 10–70 Mbar shock waves into the CH/Al/CH target. The Al 1s-2p absorption spectra were analyzed using the atomic physic code PRISMSPECT to infer Te and ρ in the Al layer, assuming uniform plasma conditions during shock-wave heating, and to determine when the heat front penetrated the Al layer. The drive foils were simulated with the one-dimensional hydrodynamics code LILAC using a flux-limited (f=0.06 and f=0.1) and nonlocal thermal-transport model [V. N. Goncharov et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 012702 (2006)]. The predictions of simulated shock-wave heating and the timing of heat-front penetration are compared to the observations. The experimental results for a wide variety of laser-drive conditions and buried depths have shown that the LILAC predictions using f=0.06 and the nonlocal model accurately model the shock-wave heating and timing of the heat-front penetration while the shock is transiting the target. The observed discrepancy between the measured and simulated shock-wave heating at late times of the drive can be explained by the reduced radiative heating due to lateral heat flow in the corona.

Measurements of preheat and shock melting in Be ablators during the first few nanoseconds of a National Ignition Facility ignition drive using the Omega laser

A scaled Hohlraum platform was used to experimentally measure preheat in ablator materials during the first few nanoseconds of a radiation drive proposed for ignition experiments at the National Ignition Facility [J. A. Paisner et al., Laser Focus World 30, 75 (1994)]. The platform design approximates the radiation environment of the pole of the capsule by matching both the laser spot intensity and illuminated Hohlraum wall fraction in scaled halfraums driven by the OMEGA laser system [T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)]. Back surface motion measured via VISAR reflecting from the rear surface of the sample was used to measure sample motion prior to shock breakout. The experiments show that the first ∼20 μm of a Be ablator will be melted by radiation preheat, with subsequent material melted by the initial shock, in agreement with simulations. The experiments also show no evidence of anomalous heating of buried high-Z doped layers in the ablator.

High-Areal-Density Fuel Assembly in Direct-Drive Cryogenic Implosions

The first observation of ignition-relevant areal-density deuterium from implosions of capsules with cryogenic fuel layers at ignition-relevant adiabats is reported. The experiments were performed on the 60-beam, 30-kJUV OMEGA Laser System [T. R. Boehly, Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)10.1016/S0030-4018(96)00325-2]. Neutron-averaged areal densities of 202+/-7 mg/cm2 and 182+/-7 mg/cm2 (corresponding to estimated peak fuel densities in excess of 100 g/cm3) were inferred using an 18-kJ direct-drive pulse designed to put the converging fuel on an adiabat of 2.5. These areal densities are in good agreement with the predictions of hydrodynamic simulations indicating that the fuel adiabat can be accurately controlled under ignition-relevant conditions.