Results From the New NIF Gated LEH imager

ORAL

Abstract

A novel ns-gated Laser Entrance Hole (G-LEH) diagnostic has been successfully implemented at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). ~This diagnostic has successfully acquired images from various experimental campaigns, providing critical information for inertial confinement fusion experiments. The G-LEH diagnostic which takes time-resolved gated images along a single line-of-sight, incorporates a high-speed multi-frame CMOS x-ray imager developed by Sandia National Laboratories into the existing Static X-ray Imager diagnostic at NIF. It is capable of capturing two laser-entrance-hole images per shot on its 1024x448 pixel photo-detector array, with integration times as short as 2 ns per frame. The results that will be presented include the size of the laser entrance hole vs. time, the growth of the laser-heated gold plasma bubble, the change in brightness of inner beam spots due to time-varying cross beam energy transfer, and plasma instability growth near the hohlraum wall.

*This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by LLNS, LLC, under Contract No. DE-AC52- 07NA27344.

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Authors

  • Hui Chen

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • P. Amendt

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • M. Barrios

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • D. Bradley

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • D. Casey

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • D. Hinkel

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • L. Berzak Hopkins

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • J. Kilkenny

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • A. Kritcher

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • O. Landen

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • O. Jones

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • T. Ma

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • J. Milovich

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • P. Michel

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • J. Moody

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • J. Ralph

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • A. Pak

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • N. Palmer

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  • M. Schneider

    • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory