First Successes and Modifications of the NIF Opacity Spectrometer
ORAL
Abstract
The NIF Opacity Spectrometer (OpSpec) began returning X-ray spectra on its first NIF shot in September 2016. In May 2017, OpSpec recorded the first X-ray transmission data for iron-magnesium plasmas on NIF, at ``Anchor 1'' sample conditions (150 eV and 7E21 e-/cc). OpSpec diffracts X-rays in the 540-2100 eV range off a KAP or RbAP crystal onto either image plate or X-ray film. Modifications to further improve OpSpec's performance are underway, with the largest improvements expected in resolving power (E/dE up to 1000) and reduction of background levels. Implementation is planned for NIF shots in August and December 2017. This presentation will discuss the OpSpec data and design improvements, and also future goals.
*This work was performed by National Security Technologies, LLC, under Contract No. DE-AC52-06NA25946 with the U.S. Department of Energy. DOE/NV/25946--2891