Laser coupling to reduced-scale hohlraum targets at the Early Light Program of the National Ignition Facilitya

• Published in: Physics of plasmas 2005-05, Vol.12 (5)
• Main Authors: Hinkel, D. E., Schneider, M. B., Baldis, H. A., Bonanno, G., Bower, D. E., Campbell, K. M., Celeste, J. R., Compton, S., Costa, R., Dewald, E. L., Dixit, S. N., Eckart, M. J., Eder, D. C., Edwards, M. J., Ellis, A., Emig, J. A., Froula, D. H., Glenzer, S. H., Hargrove, D., Haynam, C. A., Heeter, R. F., Henesian, M. A., Holder, J. P., Holtmeier, G., James, L., Jancaitis, K. S., Kalantar, D. H., Kamperschroer, J. H., Kauffman, R. L., Kimbrough, J., Kirkwood, R. K., Koniges, A. E., Landen, O. L., Landon, M., Langdon, A. B., Lee, F. D., MacGowan, B. J., Mackinnon, A. J., Manes, K. R., Marshall, C., May, M. J., McDonald, J. W., Menapace, J., Moses, E. I., Munro, D. H., Murray, J. R., Niemann, C., Pellinen, D., Rekow, V., Ruppe, J. A., Schein, J., Shepherd, R., Singh, M. S., Springer, P. T., Still, C. H., Suter, L. J., Tietbohl, G. L., Turner, R. E., Van Wonterghem, B. M., Wallace, R. J., Warrick, A., Watts, P., Weber, F., Wegner, P. J., Williams, E. A., Young, B. K., Young, P. E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1070-664X; 1089-7674
• DOI: 10.1063/1.1880012

A platform for analysis of material properties under extreme conditions, where a sample is bathed in radiation with a high temperature, is under development. Depositing maximum laser energy into a small, high- Z enclosure produces this hot environment. Such targets were recently included in an experimental campaign using the first four of the 192 beams of the National Ignition Facility [J. A. Paisner, E. M. Campbell, and W. J. Hogan, Fusion Technol. 26, 755 (1994)], under construction at the University of California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. These targets demonstrate good laser coupling, reaching a radiation temperature of 340 eV. In addition, there is a unique wavelength dependence of the Raman backscattered light that is consistent with Brillouin backscatter of Raman forward scatter [A. B. Langdon and D. E. Hinkel, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 015003 (2002)]. Finally, novel diagnostic capabilities indicate that 20% of the direct backscatter from these reduced-scale targets is in the polarization orthogonal to that of the incident light.