Modification of stagnation conditions in Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion via thick dielectric coating

Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) experiments on the Z facility at Sandia National Laboratories use approximately 20 MA of current to implode a metal cylinder, which contains axially-magnetized, laser-heated deuterium fuel. MagLIF experiments have demonstrated primary DD neutron yields up to 3e12 with burn averaged ion temperatures of 2.5 keV. X-ray emission at stagnation, recorded with a spherically-bent crystal imager, shows a weakly-helical structure with axial variations in intensity. Previously, the application of a thick dielectric coating to the exterior of an imploding cylinder has shown improved stability of the cylinder throughout the implosion. We recently demonstrated that adding a dielectric coating to a MagLIF target produces a cylindrical, rather than helical, stagnation column with reduced axial variations in intensity. There are also indications of decreased late-time mix in the x-ray spectra. This is consistent with a more uniform, stable stagnation column. *Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under Contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000.