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PETAL is an additional PW beamline to the LMJ. The kJ shots in the amplifier section, the compressor alignment and the 1.15 PW @ 850 J operations are detailed. Damage issues encountered are also addressed.

On the Laser Integration Line (LIL) facility at Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA) near Bordeaux (France), streak cameras (SCs) are extensively used as x-ray detectors by plasma physicists for the recording of transient phenomena as short as 100 ps. For proper interpretation of the experimental results measurements of the SC yield are carried out before each experimental campaign. The yield is actually an indirect measurement that depends on several other measured quantities. The uncertainty associated with the yield is evaluated using the analytical GUM approach and the Monte Carlo (MC) approach using GUM Supplement 1. It is shown in particular that in the assessment process the standard uncertainty and the probability density function of some input quantities propagate through polynomial fitting functions and integrals. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to identify the critical input quantities. The study shows that after correction of the manufacturer's fact sheet the GUM evaluation converges to MC evaluation when the uncertainties associated with non-linear input quantities become small. When propagating uncertainties through integrals it is observed that the uncertainty of the output quantity is mainly dominated by strong correlation effects with the covariance components adding up to produce large uncertainties. Finally, by comparing the experimental yield with a theoretical model good agreement is found.

The Petawatt Aquitaine Laser (PETAL) facility was designed and constructed by the French Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) as an additional PW beamline to the Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) facility. PETAL energy is limited to 1 kJ at the beginning due to the damage threshold of the final optics. In this paper, we present the commissioning of the PW PETAL beamline. The first kJ shots in the amplifier section with a large spectrum front end, the alignment of the synthetic aperture compression stage and the initial demonstration of the 1.15 PW @ 850 J operations in the compression stage are detailed. Issues encountered relating to damage to optics are also addressed.

One way to get the fusion of hydrogen in laboratory consists in heating and compressing a DT fuel capsule by using a laser. To reach this aim requires a new generation of high power laser facility. CEA is developing for this purpose a new 240 laser line facility, the LMJ facility. The LIL which is the prototype of four LMJ laser lines is operational now. In order to confirm the technical choices, a systematic characterization of LIL was carried out. A particular effort has been provided to measure the 3ω high energy laser focal spot (1.5 kJ/700 ps and 5 ns for one beam) and the synchronization of laser beams onto the target, which are key issues for the plasma production. We present the experimental device designed to perform these measures: the SAT 3ω (a 3w laser focal spot analysis system). That diagnostic which is located at the end of the laser lines supplied its first results during the 2004 quadruplet qualification campaigns. We will display and analyze caustic and focal spot results.

A Velocity Interferometer for Any Reflector (VISAR) [1, 2] and a Streaked Optical Pyrometer (SOP) [3] were implemented on the “Ligne integration Laser” (LIL) facility. Spatial resolution as good as 10 μm in the target plane and velocity resolution as good as 0.1 km/s can be achieved. Several campaigns were performed in 2010 involving various experimental setups and physical processes: Boron EOS, Pre-compress H2 with special setup of diamond anvil cell and Shock coalescence. This feedback will be of a great help for the Laser Megajoule facility (LMJ) VISAR design.

Streak cameras and framing cameras used for studying single shot laser created plasmas at LIL and soon at LMJ need to be regularly controlled to assure a good operating system. This poster presents the laboratories that have been set up at CEA-CESTA to overcome this task. To cover the entire spectral domain required, many sources have been designed. First, AZUR laboratory is supposed to deliver three measurements ways equipped with laser sources for static and dynamic visible detectors control. Second, CADENCE laboratory is ought to test temporal resolution in UV domain by delivering laser ps pulse train. X-ray cameras are then calibrated by replacing CsI photocathodes with Pd photocathodes sensitive in UV. Finally, STATIX laboratory aims at controlling X-ray streak and framing cameras in static regime with several continuous X-ray sources. Properties as linearity, homogeneity, sensitivity and temporal response are going to be measured to guaranty diagnostics performances on LIL plasma physics shots.

The Ligne d'Integration Laser (LIL) facility has been designed as a prototype for the Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) which is a cornerstone of the French 'Simulation Program'. This laser has been intensively used to test and improve the LMJ components. In addition, a large panel of plasma diagnostics has been installed and is currently used to perform laser–plasma experiments. After a brief discussion about the LIL design, we present the last results in various plasma physics domains.