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Areal density is one of the key parameters that determines the confinement time in inertial confinement fusion experiments, and low-mode asymmetries in the compressed fuel are detrimental to the implosion performance. The energy spectra from the scattering of the primary deuterium–tritium (DT) neutrons off the compressed cold fuel assembly are used to investigate low-mode nonuniformities in direct-drive cryogenic DT implosions at the Omega Laser Facility. For spherically symmetric implosions, the shape of the energy spectrum is primarily determined by the elastic and inelastic scattering cross sections for both neutron-deuterium and neutron-tritium kinematic interactions. Two highly collimated lines of sight, which are positioned at nearly orthogonal locations around the OMEGA target chamber, record the neutron time-of-flight signal in the current mode. An evolutionary algorithm is being used to extract a model-independent energy spectrum of the scattered neutrons from the experimental neutron time-of-flight data and is used to infer the modal spatial variations (l = 1) in the areal density. Experimental observations of the low-mode variations of the cold-fuel assembly (ρL0 + ρL1) show good agreement with a recently developed model, indicating a departure from the spherical symmetry of the compressed DT fuel assembly. Another key signature that has been observed in the presence of a low-mode variation is the broadening of the kinematic end-point due to the anisotropy of the dense fuel conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) detector for deuterium–deuterium (DD)-fusion yield and ion-temperature measurements was designed, installed, and calibrated for the OMEGA Laser Facility. This detector provides an additional line of sight for DD neutron yield and ion-temperature measurements for yields exceeding 1 × 1010 with higher precision than existing detectors. The nTOF detector consists of a 90-mm-diam, 20-mm-thick BC-422 scintillator and a gated Photek photomultiplier tube (PMT240). The PMT collects scintillating light through the 20-mm side of the scintillator without the use of a light guide. There is no lead shielding from hard x rays in order to allow the x-ray instrument response function of the detector to be measured easily. Instead, hard x-ray signals generated in implosion experiments are gated out by the PMT. The design provides a place for glass neutral-density filters between the scintillator and the PMT to avoid PMT saturation at high yields. The nTOF detector is installed in the OMEGA Target Bay along the P8A sub-port line of sight at a distance of 5.3 m from the target chamber center. In addition to DD measurements, the same detector can be used to measure the neutron yield and ion temperature from deuterium–tritium (DT) implosion targets in the 5 × 1010 to 2 × 1012 yield range. The design details and the calibration results of this nTOF detector for both D2 and DT implosions on OMEGA will be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unintentional mispositioning of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) capsules from the center of laser beam convergence has long been shown in simulations to generate large ℓ=1 asymmetry and significantly degrade implosion symmetry and fusion yields. Experimental yields on the OMEGA laser system, however, have shown much less sensitivity to this initial target offset. This paper presents simulations of offset ICF implosions improved by including a physics model of cross-beam energy transfer (CBET), a mechanism of laser energy scattering from one beam to another. Room-temperature OMEGA implosion experiments with prescribed target offsets are simulated with and without CBET, illustrating that CBET mitigates the ℓ=1 implosion asymmetry from the target offset. Comparison of simulations to multiple complementary experimental observables indicates that the addition of CBET physics in offset simulations is necessary to match experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upgraded microchannel-plate-based photomultiplier tubes (MCP-PMT's) with increased stability to signal-shape linearity have been implemented on the 13.4-m neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) detector at the Omega Laser Facility. This diagnostic uses oxygenated xylene doped with diphenyloxazole C15H11NO + p-bis-(o-methylstyryl)-benzene (PPO + bis-MSB) wavelength shifting dyes and is coupled through four viewing ports to fast-gating MCP-PMT's, each with a different gain to allow one to measure the light output over a dynamic range of 1 × 106. With these enhancements, the 13.4-m nTOF can measure the D(t,n)4He and D(d,n)3He reaction yields and average ion temperatures in a single line of sight. Once calibrated for absolute neutron sensitivity, the nTOF detectors can be used to measure the neutron yield from 1 × 109 to 1 × 1014 and the ion temperature with an accuracy approaching 5% for both the D(t,n)4He and D(d,n)3He reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hot electrons generated from laser plasma instabilities degrade performance of direct drive implosions by preheating the deuterium and tritium (DT) fuel resulting in early decompression and lower areal densities at stagnation. A technique to quantify the hot electron preheat of the dense DT fuel and connect it to the degradation in areal density is described in detail. Hot electrons are measured primarily from the hard x-rays they emit as they slow down in the target. The DT preheat is inferred from a comparison of the hard x-ray signals between a DT-layered implosion and its mass equivalent ablator only implosion. The preheat energy spatial distribution within the imploding shell is inferred from experiments using high Z payloads of varying thicknesses. It is found that the electrons deposit their energy uniformly throughout the shell material. For typical direct-drive OMEGA implosions driven with an overlapped intensity of ∼ 9 · 10 14 W / cm 2 , approximately ∼ 0.02 % – 0.03 % of the laser energy is converted into preheat of the stagnated fuel which corresponds to areal density degradations of 10%–20%. The degradations in areal density explain some of the observed discrepancies between the simulated and measured areal densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) detector for fuel-areal-density measurements in cryogenic DT implosions was installed on the OMEGA Laser System. The nTOF detector has a cylindrical thin-wall, stainless-steel, 8-in.-diam, 4-in.-thick cavity filled with an oxygenated liquid xylene scintillator. Four gated photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) with different gains are used to measure primary DT and D2 neutrons, down-scattered neutrons in nT and nD kinematic edge regions, and to study tertiary neutrons in the same detector. The nTOF detector is located 13.4 m from target chamber center in a well-collimated line of sight. The design details of the nTOF detector, PMT optimization, and test results on OMEGA will be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurements are reported for the angle-averaged double-differential cross section ⟨d²σ/dEndΩn⟩0∘<θ<7.4∘ for the breakup reaction ²H(n,2n)¹H, induced by 14-MeV neutrons generated using an inertial confinement fusion platform. A bright neutron source, created on the OMEGA Laser System [Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] with a luminosity of L=1024s-1, was used to irradiate deuterated targets. The absolute yields and energy spectra from the breakup neutrons emitted in a forward-angle geometry (θ=0∘ to 7.4°) were detected with a sensitive, high-dynamic-range neutron time-of-flight spectrometer. The cross-section data, measured for neutron energy range from 0.5 to 10 MeV, is well reproduced by a theoretical calculation employing realistic nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrodynamics of the dense confining fuel shell is of great importance in defining the behavior of the burning plasma and burn propagation regimes of inertial confinement fusion experiments. However, it is difficult to probe due to its low emissivity in comparison with the central fusion core. In this work, we utilize the backscattered neutron spectroscopy technique to directly measure the hydrodynamic conditions of the dense fuel during fusion burn. Experimental data are fit to obtain dense fuel velocities and apparent ion temperatures. Trends of these inferred parameters with yield and velocity of the burning plasma are used to investigate their dependence on alpha heating and low mode drive asymmetry. It is shown that the dense fuel layer has an increased outward radial velocity as yield increases, showing that burn has continued into re-expansion, a key signature of hotspot ignition. A comparison with analytic and simulation models shows that the observed dense fuel parameters are displaying signatures of burn propagation into the dense fuel layer, including a rapid increase in dense fuel apparent ion temperature with neutron yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In direct-drive inertial confinement fusion, target offset from the target chamber center (or center of beam convergence) may lead to significant implosion asymmetry and fusion yield degradation. In addition, cross-beam energy transfer (CBET) has been shown to be a significant source of laser energy scattering and leads to a reduction in implosion velocity and yield. To improve energy coupling and implosion performance, several techniques for CBET mitigation have been proposed. Recent simulations, however, have shown that CBET also substantially mitigates the effect of target offset on implosion asymmetry and yield [Anderson et al., Phys. Plasmas 27, 112713 (2020)]. Furthermore, the inclusion of CBET models in radiation-hydrodynamics codes was shown to greatly improve agreement between simulations and experiments involving substantial target offset distances. This paper explores the intensity dependence of this CBET–offset effect. In addition, it is shown that enhanced sensitivity to target offset can be expected when CBET-mitigation techniques are used in direct-drive implosions. This is shown through simulations of two such CBET-mitigation techniques on the OMEGA laser: (1) decreased beam-to-target radius, and (2) beam-to-beam frequency detuning. For the typical target offset distances (<15 μm) observed in experiments on OMEGA, however, overall yield is still anticipated to be substantially higher when CBET-mitigation techniques are employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A traditional neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) detector used in inertial confinement fusion consists of a scintillator coupled with a photomultiplier tube (PMT). The instrument response function (IRF) of such a detector is dominated by the scintillator-light decay. In DT implosions with neutron yield larger than 1013, a novel detector consisting of a microchannel-plate (MCP) photomultiplier tube in a housing without a scintillator (PMT nTOF) can be used to measure DT yield, ion temperature, and neutron velocity. Most of the neutron signals in PMT nTOF detectors are produced from neutron interaction with a PMT window. The direct interaction of neutrons with the MCP provides negligible contribution. The elimination of the scintillator removes the scintillator decay from the instrument response function and makes the IRF of the PMT nTOF detector faster, which makes the ion temperature and neutron velocity measurements more accurate. Three PMT nTOF detectors were deployed in the OMEGA laser system for the first time to diagnose inertial confinement fusion plasma. The design details, characteristics, and calibration results of these detectors in DT implosions on OMEGA are presented. Recommendations on the use of different PMTs for specific applications are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance degradation in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion implosions is caused by several effects, one of which is Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability growth during the deceleration phase. In room-temperature plastic target implosions, deceleration-phase RT growth is enhanced by the density discontinuity and finite Atwood number at the fuel–shell interface. In this paper, the Atwood number of the interface is systematically varied by altering the ratio of deuterium to tritium (D:T) within the DT gas fill. It is shown that the stability of the interface is best characterized by the effective Atwood number, which is primarily determined by radiation heating of the shell and not by the composition of the fuel. Both simulation and experimental data show that yield performance scales with the fraction of D and T present in the fuel and that the observed inferred ion temperature asymmetry (Δ T i = T i max − T i min) , which indicates the presence of long-wavelength modes, has a small sensitivity to the different D:T ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ion temperatures serve as an important diagnostic for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. In direct-drive ICF experiments on OMEGA, neutron-time-of-flight (nTOF) data are used to infer the ion temperature of the fusing plasma produced in the implosion experiment. The analysis of the nTOF data requires an assumption about the shape of the underlying source signal. Since the source nTOF signal is a near-replica of the neutron energy spectrum, an ideal Gaussian shape, corresponding to the neutron energy spectrum of a uniform temperature plasma, is routinely employed. However, spatial and temporal variations of the ion temperature in the plasma give rise to higher-order moments, which were first described by Munro [Nucl. Fusion 56, 036001 (2016)]. In this work, we show a simpler alternative analysis to derive moments of the neutron energy spectrum for a plasma with variations in ion temperature. We also present a revised analysis of measured nTOF signals that uses a model with an additional degree of freedom to take into account the effect of ion temperature variations on the shape of the spectrum. Compared to presently used nTOF analysis, the revised analysis yields on average ≈ 2 × more accurate fits to the data and up to 15% higher ion temperatures for cryogenic experiments. Furthermore, we quantify the ion temperature inflation caused by radially symmetric fluid flows, which are present even in a symmetric implosion, and which serve as a lower bound on the ion temperature inflation in real implosions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deuterium-tritium (D-T) and deuterium-deuterium neutron yield ratio in cryogenic inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments is used to examine multifluid effects, traditionally not included in ICF modeling. This ratio has been measured for ignition-scalable direct-drive cryogenic DT implosions at the Omega Laser Facility [T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] using a high-dynamic-range neutron time-of-flight spectrometer. The experimentally inferred yield ratio is consistent with both the calculated values of the nuclear reaction rates and the measured preshot target-fuel composition. These observations indicate that the physical mechanisms that have been proposed to alter the fuel composition, such as species separation of the hydrogen isotopes [D. T. Casey et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 075002 (2012)], are not significant during the period of peak neutron production in ignition-scalable cryogenic direct-drive DT implosions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutrons generated in Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) experiments provide valuable information to interpret the conditions reached in the plasma. The neutron time-of-flight (nToF) technique is well suited for measuring the neutron energy spectrum due to the short time (100 ps) over which neutrons are typically emitted in ICF experiments. By locating detectors 10s of meters from the source, the neutron energy spectrum can be measured to high precision. We present a contextual review of the current state of the art in nToF detectors at ICF facilities in the United States, outlining the physics that can be measured, the detector technologies currently deployed and analysis techniques used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, most of the analysis of neutron time-of-flight data from inertial confinement fusion experiments has focused on the relatively small range of energies corresponding to the primary neutrons from deuterium–deuterium and deuterium–tritium fusion and has, therefore, employed instrument response functions (IRFs) corresponding to monoenergetic 2.45-MeV or 14.03-MeV neutrons. For the analysis of time-of-flight signals corresponding to broader ranges of neutron energies, accurate treatment of the data requires the use of an energy-dependent IRF. This work describes interpolation of the IRF for neutrons of arbitrary energy, construction of an energy-dependent IRF, and application of this IRF in a forward fit via matrix multiplication. As an example of the application of this method, an analysis of synthetic data relevant to tritium–tritium fusion experiments at the Omega Laser Facility is discussed. This example is used to illustrate the differences between a forward fit that uses an energy-dependent IRF and a forward fit that uses a monoenergetic IRF. Use of the energy-dependent IRF is shown to result in accurate inference of the fit parameters of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The areal density (ρR) of cryogenic DT implosions on Omega is inferred by measuring the spectrum of neutrons that elastically scatter off the dense deuterium (D) and tritium (T) fuel. Neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) techniques are used to measure the energy spectrum with high resolution. High signal-to-background data has been recorded on cryogenic DT implosions using a well-collimated 13.4-m line of sight and an nTOF detector with an advanced liquid scintillator compound. An innovative method to analyze the elastically scattered neutron spectra was developed using well-known cross sections of the DT nuclear reactions. The estimated areal densities are consistent with alternative ρR measurements and 1-D simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the performance of inertial confinement fusion implosions requires physics models that can accurately predict the response to changes in the experimental inputs. Good predictive capability has been demonstrated for the fusion yield using a statistical mapping of simulated outcomes to experimental data [Gopalaswamy et al., Nature 565(771), 581–586 (2019)]. In this paper, a physics-based statistical mapping approach is used to extract and quantify all the major sources of degradation of fusion yield for direct-drive implosions on the OMEGA laser. The yield is found to be dependent on the age of the deuterium tritium fill, the ℓ = 1 asymmetry in the implosion core, the laser beam-to-target size ratio, and parameters related to the hydrodynamic stability. A controlled set of experiments were carried out where only the target fill age was varied while keeping all other parameters constant. The measurements were found to be in excellent agreement with the fill age dependency inferred using the mapping model. In addition, a new implosion design was created, guided by the statistical mapping model by optimizing the trade-offs between increased laser energy coupling at larger target size and the degradations caused by the laser beam-to-target size ratio and hydrodynamic instabilities. When experimentally performed, an increased fusion yield was demonstrated in targets with larger diameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional effects play a crucial role during the hot-spot formation in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. A data analysis technique for 3D hot-spot reconstruction from experimental observables has been developed to characterize the effects of low modes on 3D hot-spot formations. In nuclear measurements, the effective flow direction, governed by the maximum eigenvalue in the velocity variance of apparent ion temperatures, has been found to agree with the measured hot-spot flows for implosions dominated by mode ℓ = 1. Asymmetries in areal-density (ρR) measurements were found to be characterized by a unique cosine variation along the hot-spot flow axis. In x-ray images, a 3D hot-spot x-ray emission tomography method was developed to reconstruct the 3D hot-spot plasma emissivity using a generalized spherical-harmonic Gaussian function. The gradient-descent algorithm was used to optimize the mapping between the projections from the 3D hot-spot emission model and the measured x-ray images along multiple views. This work establishes a platform to analyze 3D low-mode core asymmetries in ICF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate diagnosis of areal density (ρR) is critical for the inference of performance metrics in inertial confinement fusion implosions. One potential source of error in this diagnosis is the existence of low mode perturbations in the imploding target, which lead to asymmetries in the inference of the ρR from different lines of sight. Here, the error accrued as a result of limited coverage of the sphere due to a finite number of detectors is quantified, and the development of a forward scatter measurement from the OMEGA neutron time-of-flight detectors is motivated. A method by which the 1D-equivalent 4π-averaged ⟨ ρ R ⟩ can be reconstructed, if accurate mode information can be diagnosed by other means, is validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High gain in hotspot-ignition inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions requires the propagation of thermonuclear burn from a central hotspot to the surrounding cold dense fuel. As ICF experiments enter the burning plasma regime, diagnostic signatures of burn propagation must be identified. In previous work [A. J. Crilly et al., Phys. Plasmas 27(1), 012701 (2020)], it has been shown that the spectral shape of the neutron backscatter edges is sensitive to the dense fuel hydrodynamic conditions. The backscatter edges are prominent features in the ICF neutron spectrum produced by the 180° scattering of primary deuterium–tritium fusion neutrons from ions. In this work, synthetic neutron spectra from radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of burning ICF implosions are used to assess the backscatter edge analysis in a propagating burn regime. Significant changes to the edge's spectral shape are observed as the degree of burn increases, and a simplified analysis is developed to infer scatter-averaged fluid velocity and temperature. The backscatter analysis offers direct measurement of the increased dense fuel temperatures that result from burn propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryogenic deuterium–tritium ice target implosions on OMEGA with new small-spot (SG5-650) distributed phase plates (DPPs) achieved an (11 ± 4) % increase in energy coupling compared to implosions with larger-spot SG5-850 DPPs by decreasing the ratio of the laser spot diameter to the target diameter from 0.93 to 0.75. The SG5-650 DPPs provide a focus spot size of 674 μm, which is defined as the diameter that encircles 95% of the measured beam energy compared to 834 μm for the SG5-850, which are the standard DPPs in cryogenic target implosions on OMEGA. The hydrodynamic efficiency, defined as the ratio of the kinetic energy in the imploding shell to the laser energy, increased from 4.5% to 5.0% based on radiation-hydrodynamic calculations benchmarked to shell trajectory and bang-time measurements. The higher coupling came with a trade-off of an increased hot-electron production as well as increased hydrodynamic instabilities seeded by a larger mode-10 amplitude from the beam port geometry, both of which may have reduced the fusion neutron production and areal density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we present evidence, in the context of OMEGA cryogenic target implosions, that laser imprint, known to be capable of degrading laser-direct-drive target performance, plays a major role in generating fuel–ablator mix. OMEGA cryogenic target implosions show a performance boundary correlated with acceleration-phase shell stability; for sufficiently low adiabats (where the adiabat is the ratio of the pressure to the Fermi pressure) and high in-flight aspect ratios (IFAR's), the neutron-weighted shell areal density and neutron yield relative to the clean simulated values sharply decline. Direct evidence of Rayleigh–Taylor fuel–ablator mixing was previously obtained using a Si Heα backlighter driven by an ∼20-ps short pulse generated by OMEGA EP. The shadow cast by the shell shortly prior to stagnation, as diagnosed using backlit radiographs, shows a softening near the limb, which is evidence of an ablator–fuel mix region for a low-adiabat implosion (α ∼ 1.9, IFAR = 14) but not for a moderate adiabat implosion (α ∼ 2.5, IFAR = 10). We find good agreement between experimental and synthetic radiographs in simulations that model laser imprint and account for uncertainty in the initial ablator thickness. We further explore the role of other mechanisms such as classical instability growth at the fuel–ablator interface, species concentration diffusion, and long-wavelength drive and target asymmetries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hot electrons generated by laser-plasma instabilities degrade the performance of laser-fusion implosions by preheating the DT fuel and reducing core compression. The hot-electron energy deposition in the DT fuel has been directly measured for the first time by comparing the hard x-ray signals between DT-layered and mass-equivalent ablator-only implosions. The electron energy deposition profile in the fuel is inferred through dedicated experiments using Cu-doped payloads of varying thickness. The measured preheat energy accurately explains the areal-density degradation observed in many OMEGA implosions. This technique can be used to assess the viability of the direct-drive approach to laser fusion with respect to the scaling of hot-electron preheat with laser energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) detectors are used to diagnose the conditions present in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments and basic laboratory physics experiments performed on an ICF platform. The instrument response function (IRF) of these detectors is constructed by convolution of two components: an x-ray IRF and a neutron interaction response. The shape of the neutron interaction response varies with incident neutron energy, changing the shape of the total IRF. Analyses of nTOF data that span a broad range of energies must account for this energy-dependence in order to accurately infer plasma parameters and nuclear properties in ICF experiments. This work briefly reviews a matrix multiplication approach to convolution, which allows for an energy-dependent change in the shape of the IRF. This method is applied to synthetic data resembling symmetric cryogenic DT implosions to examine the effect of the energy-dependent IRF on the inferred areal density. The results of forward fits that infer ion temperatures and areal densities from nTOF data collected during cryogenic DT experiments on OMEGA are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonuniformities present in the laser illumination and target in laser-driven inertial confinement fusion experiments lead to an asymmetric compression of the target, resulting in an inefficient conversion of shell kinetic energy to thermal energy of the hot-spot plasma. In this paper, the effects of asymmetric compression of cryogenic deuterium tritium laser-direct-drive implosions are examined using a suite of nuclear and x-ray diagnostics on the OMEGA laser. The neutron-averaged hot-spot velocity ( u → hs ) and apparent ion temperature ( T i ) asymmetry are determined from neutron time-of-flight measurements of the primary deuterium tritium fusion neutron energy spectrum, while the areal density (ρR) of the compressed fuel surrounding the hot spot is inferred from measurements of the scattered neutron energy spectrum. The low-mode perturbations of the hot-spot shape are characterized from x-ray self-emission images recorded along three quasi-orthogonal lines of sight. Implosions with significant mode-1 laser-drive asymmetries show large hot-spot velocities (>100 km/s) in a direction consistent with the hot-spot elongation observed in x-ray images, measured T i asymmetry, and ρR asymmetry. Laser-drive corrections have been applied through shifting the initial target location in order to mitigate the observed asymmetry. With the asymmetry corrected, a more-symmetric hot spot is observed with reduced u → hs , T i asymmetry, ρR asymmetry, and a 30% increase in the fusion yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present experimental studies of inverted-corona targets as neutron sources at the OMEGA Laser Facility and the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Laser beams are directed onto the inner walls of a capsule via laser-entrance holes (LEHs), heating the target interior to fusion conditions. The fusion fuel is provided either as a wall liner, e.g., deuterated plastic (CD), or as a gas fill, e.g., D2 gas. Such targets are robust to low-mode drive asymmetries, allowing for single-sided laser drive. On OMEGA, 1.8-mm-diameter targets with either a 10-μm CD liner or up to 2 atm of D2-gas fill were driven with up to 18 kJ of laser energy in a 1-ns square pulse. Neutron yields of up to 1.5 × 1010 generally followed expected trends with fill pressure or laser energy, although the data imply some mix of the CH wall into the fusion fuel for either design. Comparable performance was observed with single-sided (1x LEH) or double-sided (2x LEH) drive. NIF experiments tested the platform at scaled up dimensions and energies, combining a 15-μm CD liner and a 3-atm D2-gas fill in a 4.5-mm diameter target, laser-driven with up to 330 kJ. Neutron yields up to 2.6 × 1012 were measured, exceeding the scaled yield expectation from the OMEGA data. The observed energy scaling on the NIF implies that the neutron production is gas dominated, suggesting a performance boost from using deuterium–tritium (DT) gas. We estimate that neutron yields exceeding 1014 should be readily achievable using a modest laser drive of ∼300 kJ with a DT fill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional reconstruction algorithms have been developed, which determine the hot-spot velocity, hot-spot apparent ion temperature distribution, and fuel areal-density distribution present in laser-direct-drive inertial confinement fusion implosions on the OMEGA laser. These reconstructions rely on multiple independent measurements of the neutron energy spectrum emitted from the fusing plasma. Measurements of the neutron energy spectrum on OMEGA are made using a suite of quasi-orthogonal neutron time-of-flight detectors and a magnetic recoil spectrometer. These spectrometers are positioned strategically around the OMEGA target chamber to provide unique 3D measurements of the conditions of the fusing hot spot and compressed fuel near peak compression. The uncertainties involved in these 3D reconstructions are discussed and are used to identify a new nTOF diagnostic line of sight, which when built will reduce the uncertainty in the hot-spot apparent ion temperature distribution from 700 to <400 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In inertial confinement fusion implosion experiments, the presence of residual anisotropic fluid motion within the stagnating hot spot leads to significant variations in ion-temperature measurements using neutron time-of-flight detectors along different lines of sight. The minimum ion-temperature measurement is typically used as representative of the thermal temperature. In the presence of isotropic flows, however, even the minimum Deuterium–Tritium (DT) neutron-inferred ion temperature can be well above the plasma thermal temperature. Using both Deuterium–Deuterium (DD) and DT neutron-inferred ion-temperature measurements, we show that it is possible to determine the contribution of isotropic flows and infer the DT burn-averaged thermal ion temperature. The contribution of large isotropic flows on driving the ratio of DD to DT neutron-inferred ion temperatures well below unity and approaching the lower bound of 0.8 is demonstrated in multimode simulations. The minimum DD neutron-inferred ion temperature is determined from the velocity variance analysis, accounting for the presence of isotropic flows. Being close to the DT burn-averaged thermal ion temperature, the inferred DD minimum ion temperatures demonstrate a strong correlation with the experimental yields in the OMEGA implosion database. An analytical expression is also derived to explain the effect of mode ℓ = 1 ion-temperature measurement asymmetry on yield degradations caused by the anisotropic flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-mode asymmetries have emerged as one of the primary challenges to achieving high-performing inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. In direct-drive ICF, an important potential seed of such asymmetries is the capsule stalk mount, the impact of which has remained a contentious question. In this paper, we describe the results from an experiment on the OMEGA laser with intentional offsets at varying angles to the capsule stalk mount, which clearly demonstrates the impact of the stalk mount on implosion dynamics. The angle between stalk and offset is found to significantly impact observables. Specifically, a larger directional flow is observed in neutron spectrum measurements when the offset is toward rather than away from the stalk, while an offset at 42° to the stalk gives minimal directional flow but still generates a large flow field in the implosion. No significant directional flow is seen due to stalk only. Time-integrated x-ray images support these flow observations. A trend is also seen in implosion yield, with lower yield obtained for offsets with a smaller angle than with a larger angle toward the stalk. Radiation hydrodynamic simulations using 2D DRACO and 2D/3D Chimera not including the stalk mount and using 2D xRAGE including the stalk mount are brought to bear on the data. The yield trend, the minimal directional flow with stalk only, and the larger flow enhancement observed with the offset toward the stalk are all reproduced in the xRAGE simulations. The results strongly indicate that the stalk impact must be considered and mitigated to achieve high-performing implosions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kinematic lower bound for the single scattering of neutrons produced in deuterium-tritium (DT) fusion reactions produces a backscatter edge in the measured neutron spectrum. The energy spectrum of backscattered neutrons is dependent on the scattering ion velocity distribution. As the neutrons preferentially scatter in the densest regions of the capsule, the neutron backscatter edge presents a unique measurement of the hydrodynamic conditions in the dense DT fuel. It is shown that the spectral shape of the edge is determined by the scattering rate weighted fluid velocity and temperature of the dense DT fuel layer during neutron production. In order to fit the neutron spectrum, a model for the various backgrounds around the backscatter edge is developed and tested on synthetic data produced from hydrodynamic simulations of OMEGA implosions. It is determined that the analysis could be utilized on current inertial confinement fusion experiments in order to measure the dense fuel properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In microchannel plate applications, such as in space telescopes, night-vision devices, or time-of-flight particle detection, reducing the sensitivity to signals from background sources, such as γ-rays, is beneficial for the system design and performance. The response of a single-stage lead-free borosilicate-glass microchannel plate to 14-MeV neutrons and γ-rays produced via (n, γ) reactions in surrounding structures was investigated at OMEGA. The average efficiency values for secondary electron production were found to be (5.1 ± 0.7) × 10−3 for 14-MeV neutrons and (4.9 ± 1.1) × 10−3 for ⟨1.5⟩-MeV γ-rays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneously measured DD, DT, and D3He reaction histories are used to probe the impacts of multi-ion physics during the shock phase of inertial confinement fusion implosions. In these relatively hydrodynamiclike (burn-averaged Knudsen number ⟨ N K ⟩ ∼0.3) shock-driven implosions, average-ion hydrodynamic DUED simulations are able to reasonably match burnwidths, nuclear yields, and ion temperatures. However, kinetic-ion FPION simulations are able to better simulate the timing differences and time-resolved reaction rate ratios between DD, DT, and D3He reactions. FPION simulations suggest that the D3He/DT reaction rate ratio is most directly impacted by ion species separation between the 3He and T ions, whereas the D3He/DD reaction rate ratio is affected by both ion species separation and ion temperature decoupling effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a technique for identifying trends in performance degradation for inertial confinement fusion implosion experiments. It is based on reconstruction of the implosion core with a combination of low- and mid-mode asymmetries. This technique was applied to an ensemble of hydro-equivalent deuterium–tritium implosions on OMEGA which achieved inferred hot-spot pressures ≈56 ± 7 Gbar [Regan et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 025001 (2016)]. All the experimental observables pertaining to the core could be reconstructed simultaneously with the same combination of low and mid-modes. This suggests that in addition to low modes, which can cause a degradation of the stagnation pressure, mid-modes are present which reduce the size of the neutron and x-ray producing volume. The systematic analysis shows that asymmetries can cause an overestimation of the total areal density in these implosions. It is also found that an improvement in implosion symmetry resulting from correction of either the systematic mid or low modes would result in an increase in the hot-spot pressure from 56 Gbar to ≈ 80 Gbar and could produce a burning plasma when the implosion core is extrapolated to an equivalent 1.9 MJ symmetric direct illumination [Bose et al., Phys. Rev. E 94, 011201(R) (2016)]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of large-scale (with Legendre modes ≲10) asymmetries in OMEGA direct-drive implosions caused by laser illumination nonuniformities (beam-power imbalance and beam mispointing and mistiming), target offset, and variation in target-layer thickness were investigated using the low-noise, three-dimensional Eulerian hydrodynamic code ASTER. Simulations indicate that these asymmetries can significantly degrade the implosion performance. The most important sources of the asymmetries are the target offsets (~10 to 20 µm), beam-power imbalance (σrms ~ 10%), and variations (~5%) in target-layer thickness. Large-scale asymmetries distort implosion cores, resulting in a reduced hot-spot confinement and an increased residual kinetic energy of implosion targets. The ion temperature inferred from the width of simulated neutron spectra is influenced by bulk fuel motion in the distorted hot spot and can result in up to an ~1-keV increase in apparent temperature. Similar temperature variations along different lines of sight are observed. Demonstrating hydrodynamic equivalence to ignition designs on OMEGA requires a reduction in large-scale target and laser-imposed nonuniformities, minimizing target offset, and employing highly efficient mid-adiabat (α = 4) implosion designs, which mitigate cross-beam energy transfer and suppress short-wavelength Rayleigh-Taylor growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backlighting is a powerful technique to observe the flow of cold and dense material in high-energy-density-plasma experiments. High-performance, direct-drive cryogenic deuterium-tritium (DT) implosions are a challenging backlighting configuration because of the low opacity of the DT shell, the high shell velocity, the small size of the stagnating shell, and the very bright self-emission of the hot core. A crystal imaging system with a Si Heα backlighter at 1.865 keV driven by ~20-ps short pulses from OMEGA EP was developed to radiograph the OMEGA cryogenic implosions. The high throughput of the crystal imaging system makes it possible to record high-quality images with good photon statistics and a spatial resolution of ~15 µm at 10% to 90% modulation. This imager has been used to study the evolution of preimposed mass-density perturbations in the ablator, to quantify the perturbations caused by the stalk that is used to mount the target, and to study the mix caused by laser imprint or small-scale debris on the target surface. Because of the very low opacity of DT relative to carbon, even 0.1% of mix of carbon into the DT ice can be reliably inferred from the images. With the current implosion designs, mix is only observed for an adiabat below α = 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article was originally published online on 26 August 2022 with an error in two of the section headings that appear on pages 2 and 3. Both section headings have been corrected as HT

A next-generation neutron temporal diagnostic (NTD) capable of recording high-quality data for the highest anticipated yield cryogenic deuterium-tritium (DT) implosion experiments was recently installed at the Omega Laser Facility. A high-quality measurement of the neutron production width is required to determine the hot-spot pressure achieved in inertial confinement fusion experiments—a key metric in assessing the quality of these implosions. The design of this NTD is based on a fast-rise-time plastic scintillator, which converts the neutron kinetic energy to 350- to 450-nm-wavelength light. The light from the scintillator inside the nose-cone assembly is relayed ~16 m to a streak camera in a well-shielded location. An ~200× reduction in neutron background was observed during the first high-yield DT cryogenic implosions compared to the current NTD installation on OMEGA. An impulse response of ~40 ± 10 ps was measured in a dedicated experiment using hard x-rays from a planar target irradiated with a 10-ps short pulse from the OMEGA EP laser. The measured instrument response includes contributions from the scintillator rise time, optical relay, and streak camera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of large-scale (with Legendre modes ≲10) laser-imposed nonuniformities in direct-drive cryogenic implosions on the OMEGA Laser System are investigated using three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations performed using the newly developed code ASTER. Sources of these nonuniformities include an illumination pattern produced by 60 OMEGA laser beams, capsule offsets ~10-20 lm), and imperfect pointing, power balance, and timing of the beams (with typical σrms ~ 10 μm, 10%, and 5 ps, respectively). Two implosion designs using 26-kJ triple-picket laser pulses were studied: a nominal design, in which an 874-lm-diameter capsule is illuminated by about the same-diameter beams, and a more hydrodynamically efficient "R75" design using a 900-μm-diameter capsule and beams of 75% of this diameter. Simulations show that nonuniformities caused by capsule offsets and beam imbalance have the largest effect on implosion performance. These nonuniformities lead to significant distortions of implosion cores, resulting in an increased residual kinetic energy and incomplete stagnation. The shape of distorted cores can be well characterized using neutron images but is less represented by 4-8 keV x-ray images. Simulated neutron spectra from perturbed implosions show large directional variations because of bulk motion effects and up to an ~2 keV variation of the hot-spot temperature inferred from these spectra. The R75 design suffers more from illumination nonuniformities. Simulations show an advantage of this design over the nominal design when the target offset and beam power imbalance σrms are reduced to less than 5 μm and 5%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reaching ignition in direct-drive (DD) inertial confinement fusion implosions requires achieving central pressures in excess of 100 Gbar. The OMEGA laser system [T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] is used to study the physics of implosions that are hydrodynamically equivalent to the ignition designs on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [J. A. Paisner et al., Laser Focus World 30, 75 (1994)]. It is shown that the highest hot-spot pressures (up to 40 Gbar) are achieved in target designs with a fuel adiabat of α~- 4, an implosion velocity of 3.8 × 107 cm/s, and a laser intensity of ~1015 W/cm2. These moderate-adiabat implosions are well understood using two-dimensional hydrocode simulations. The performance of lower-adiabat implosions is significantly degraded relative to code predictions, a common feature between DD implosions on OMEGA and indirect-drive cryogenic implosions on the NIF. Simplified theoretical models are developed to gain physical understanding of the implosion dynamics that dictate the target performance. These models indicate that degradations in the shell density and integrity (caused by hydrodynamic instabilities during the target acceleration) coupled with hydrodynamics at stagnation are the main failure mechanisms in low-adiabat designs. To demonstrate ignition hydrodynamic equivalence in cryogenic implosions on OMEGA, the target-design robustness to hydrodynamic instability growth must be improved by reducing laser-coupling losses caused by cross beam energy transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A flexible direct-drive target platform is used to implode cryogenic deuterium-tritium (DT) capsules on the OMEGA laser [Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)]. The goal of these experiments is to demonstrate ignition hydrodynamically equivalent performance where the laser drive intensity, the implosion velocity, the fuel adiabat, and the in-flight aspect ratio (IFAR) are the same as those for a 1.5-MJ target [Goncharov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 165001 (2010)] designed to ignite on the National Ignition Facility [Hogan et al., Nucl. Fusion 41, 567 (2001)]. The results from a series of 29 cryogenic DT implosions are presented. The implosions were designed to span a broad region of design space to study target performance as a function of shell stability (adiabat) and implosion velocity. Ablation-front perturbation growth appears to limit target performance at high implosion velocities. Target outer-surface defects associated with contaminant gases in the DT fuel are identified as the dominant perturbation source at the ablation surface; performance degradation is confirmed by 2D hydrodynamic simulations that include these defects. A trend in the value of the Lawson criterion [Betti et al., Phys. Plasmas 17, 058102 (2010)] for each of the implosions in adiabat-IFAR space suggests the existence of a stability boundary that leads to ablator mixing into the hot spot for the most ignition-equivalent designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy flow and balance in convergent systems beyond petapascal energy densities controls the fate of late-stage stars and the potential for controlling thermonuclear inertial fusion ignition. Time-resolved x-ray self-emission imaging combined with a Bayesian inference analysis is used to describe the energy flow and the potential information stored in the rebounding spherical shock at 0.22 PPa (2.2 Gbar or billions of atmospheres pressure). This analysis, together with a simple mechanical model, describes the trajectory of the shell and the time history of the pressure at the fuel-shell interface, ablation pressure, and energy partitioning including kinetic energy of the shell and internal energy of the fuel. The techniques used here provide a fully self-consistent uncertainty analysis of integrated implosion data, a thermodynamic-path independent measurement of pressure in the petapascal range, and can be used to deduce the energy flow in a wide variety of implosion systems to petapascal energy densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is shown that direct-drive implosions on the OMEGA laser have achieved core conditions that would lead to significant alpha heating at incident energies available on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) scale. The extrapolation of the experimental results from OMEGA to NIF energy assumes only that the implosion hydrodynamic efficiency is unchanged at higher energies. This approach is independent of the uncertainties in the physical mechanism that degrade implosions on OMEGA, and relies solely on a volumetric scaling of the experimentally observed core conditions. It is estimated that the current best-performing OMEGA implosion [Regan et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 025001 (2016)] extrapolated to a 1.9 MJ laser driver with the same illumination configuration and laser-target coupling would produce 125 kJ of fusion energy with similar levels of alpha heating observed in current highest performing indirect-drive NIF implosions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]