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A thin-glass-shell, D3He-filled exploding-pusher inertial confinement fusion implosion at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) has been demonstrated as a proton source that serves as a promising first step toward development of a monoenergetic proton, alpha, and triton backlighting platform at the NIF. Among the key measurements, the D3He-proton emission on this experiment (shot N121128) has been well-characterized spectrally, temporally, and in terms of emission isotropy, revealing a highly monoenergetic ( Δ E / E ∼ 4 % ) and isotropic source (~3% proton fluence variation and ~0.5% proton energy variation). On a similar shot (N130129, with D2 fill), the DD-proton spectrum has been obtained as well, illustrating that monoenergetic protons of multiple energies may be utilized in a single experiment. These results, and experiments on OMEGA, point toward future steps in the development of a precision, monoenergetic proton, alpha, and triton source that can readily be implemented at the NIF for backlighting a broad range of high energy density physics (HEDP) experiments in which fields and flows are manifest, and also utilized for studies of stopping power in warm dense matter and in classical plasmas.

A multithreaded modular software toolkit has been developed for centralized monitoring and control of complex scientific experiments and instruments. The Modular Control Toolkit (MCT) supports Unix-like operating systems and provides a reusable framework for user-developed modules to share data, setup software interlocks, and utilize a dedicated thread for hardware communication.

A new technique that uses inertial confinement implosions for measuring low-energy nuclear reactions important to nuclear astrophysics is described. Simultaneous measurements of n–D and n–T elastic scattering at 14.1 MeV using deuterium–tritium gas-filled capsules provide a proof of principle for this technique. Measurements have been made of D(d,p)T (dd) and T(t,2n)4He (tt) reaction yields relative to the D(t,n)4He (dt) reaction yield for deuterium–tritium mixtures with f T /f D between 0.62 and 0.75 and for a wide range of ion temperatures to test our understanding of the implosion processes. Measurements of the shape of the neutron spectrum from the T(t,2n)4He reaction have been made for each of these target configurations.

The solid-state nuclear track detector CR-39 is widely used as a detecting mechanism in physics experiments as well as for industrial purposes such as neutron dosimetry and radon detection. The upper limit of detectable charged-particle fluence on CR-39 is set by physical overlapping or ‘pulse pileup’ of particle tracks on the surface. In the low-overlap regime the overlapping fraction of tracks scales as χ ≡ η × ( π D ¯ 2 ) where η is the density of tracks and D ¯ is the average track diameter. We report on the development of a Monte Carlo simulation to predict the severity of track overlap for any fluence of an arbitrary diameter distribution of tracks. Furthermore, we present an algorithm to correct for particle-track overlap in a post hoc manner based on these Monte Carlo simulations, which can extend the upper fluence limit for a quasi-monoenergic source by a factor of 3–4 when counting accuracies ∼ 10 % are acceptable.

A compact, step range filter proton spectrometer has been developed for the measurement of the absolute DD proton spectrum, from which yield and areal density (ρR) are inferred for deuterium-filled thin-shell inertial confinement fusion implosions. This spectrometer, which is based on tantalum step-range filters, is sensitive to protons in the energy range 1-9 MeV and can be used to measure proton spectra at mean energies of ∼1-3 MeV. It has been developed and implemented using a linear accelerator and applied to experiments at the OMEGA laser facility and the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Modeling of the proton slowing in the filters is necessary to construct the spectrum, and the yield and energy uncertainties are ±

CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors are widely used in physics and in many inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments, and under ideal conditions these detectors have 100% detection efficiency for ∼0.5-8 MeV protons. When the fluence of incident particles becomes too high, overlap of particle tracks leads to under-counting at typical processing conditions (5 h etch in 6N NaOH at 80 °C). Short etch times required to avoid overlap can cause under-counting as well, as tracks are not fully developed. Experiments have determined the minimum etch times for 100% detection of 1.7-4.3-MeV protons and established that for 2.4-MeV protons, relevant for detection of DD protons, the maximum fluence that can be detected using normal processing techniques is ≲3 × 10(6) cm(-2). A CR-39-based proton detector has been developed to mitigate issues related to high particle fluences on ICF facilities. Using a pinhole and scattering foil several mm in front of the CR-39, proton fluences at the CR-39 are reduced by more than a factor of ∼50, increasing the operating yield upper limit by a comparable amount.

The particle-time-of-flight (pTOF) diagnostic, fielded alongside a wedge range-filter (WRF) proton spectrometer, will provide an absolute timing for the shock-burn weighted ρR measurements that will validate the modeling of implosion dynamics at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). In the first phase of the project, pTOF has recorded accurate bang times in cryogenic DT, DT exploding pusher, and D(3)He implosions using DD or DT neutrons with an accuracy better than ±70 ps. In the second phase of the project, a deflecting magnet will be incorporated into the pTOF design for simultaneous measurements of shock- and compression-bang times in D(3)He-filled surrogate implosions using D(3)He protons and DD-neutrons, respectively.

Compact wedge-range-filter proton spectrometers cover proton energies ∼3-20 MeV. They have been used at the OMEGA laser facility for more than a decade for measuring spectra of primary D(3)He protons in D(3)He implosions, secondary D(3)He protons in DD implosions, and ablator protons in DT implosions; they are now being used also at the National Ignition Facility. The spectra are used to determine proton yields, shell areal density at shock-bang time and compression-bang time, fuel areal density, and implosion symmetry. There have been changes in fabrication and in analysis algorithms, resulting in a wider energy range, better accuracy and precision, and better robustness for survivability with indirect-drive inertial-confinement-fusion experiments.

Energy spectra and spectrally resolved one-dimensional fluence images of self-emitted charged-fusion products (14.7 MeV D[superscript 3]He protons) are routinely measured from indirectly driven inertial-confinement fusion (ICF) experiments utilizing ignition-scaled hohlraums at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). A striking and consistent feature of these images is that the fluence of protons leaving the ICF target in the direction of the hohlraum's laser entrance holes (LEHs) is very nonuniform spatially, in contrast to the very uniform fluence of protons leaving through the hohlraum equator. In addition, the measured nonuniformities are unpredictable, and vary greatly from shot to shot. These observations were made separately at the times of shock flash and of compression burn, indicating that the asymmetry persists even at ~0.5–2.5 ns after the laser has turned off. These phenomena have also been observed in experiments on the OMEGA laser facility with energy-scaled hohlraums, suggesting that the underlying physics is similar. Comprehensive data sets provide compelling evidence that the nonuniformities result from proton deflections due to strong spontaneous electromagnetic fields around the hohlraum LEHs. Although it has not yet been possible to uniquely determine whether the fields are magnetic (B) or electric (E), preliminary analysis indicates that the strength is ~1 MG if B fields or ~10[superscript 9] V cm[superscript −1] if E fields. These measurements provide important physics insight into the ongoing ignition experiments at the NIF. Understanding the generation, evolution, interaction and dissipation of the self-generated fields may help to answer many physics questions, such as why the electron temperatures measured in the LEH region are anomalously large, and may help to validate hydrodynamic models of plasma dynamics prior to plasma stagnation in the center of the hohlraum., United States. Dept. of Energy (DE-FG52-07 NA280 59), United States. Dept. of Energy (DE-FG03-03SF22691), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (B543881), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LD RD-08-ER-062), University of Rochester. Fusion Science Center (412761-G), General Atomics (DE-AC52-06NA 27279), Stewardship Science Graduate Fellowship (DE-FC52-08NA28752)

The MIT Linear Electrostatic Ion Accelerator (LEIA) generates DD and D(3)He fusion products for the development of nuclear diagnostics for Omega, Z, and the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Significant improvements to the system in recent years are presented. Fusion reaction rates, as high as 10(7) s(-1) and 10(6) s(-1) for DD and D(3)He, respectively, are now well regulated with a new ion source and electronic gas control system. Charged fusion products are more accurately characterized, which allows for better calibration of existing nuclear diagnostics. In addition, in situ measurements of the on-target beam profile, made with a CCD camera, are used to determine the metrology of the fusion-product source for particle-counting applications. Finally, neutron diagnostics development has been facilitated by detailed Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport (MCNP) modeling of neutrons in the accelerator target chamber, which is used to correct for scattering within the system. These recent improvements have resulted in a versatile platform, which continues to support the existing nuclear diagnostics while simultaneously facilitating the development of new diagnostics in aid of the National Ignition Campaign at the National Ignition Facility.

Measurements of the neutron spectrum from the T(t,2n)4He (tt) reaction have been conducted using inertial confinement fusion implosions at the OMEGA laser facility. In these experiments, deuterium-tritium (DT) gas-filled capsules were imploded to study the tt reaction in thermonuclear plasmas at low reactant center-of-mass (c.m.) energies. In contrast to accelerator experiments at higher c.m. energies (above 100 keV), these results indicate a negligible n + 5He reaction channel at a c.m. energy of 23 keV.

Measurements of the D(d,p)T (dd) and T(t,2n)(4)He (tt) reaction yields have been compared with those of the D(t,n)(4)He (dt) reaction yield, using deuterium-tritium gas-filled inertial confinement fusion capsule implosions. In these experiments, carried out on the OMEGA laser, absolute spectral measurements of dd protons and tt neutrons were obtained. From these measurements, it was concluded that the dd yield is anomalously low and the tt yield is anomalously high relative to the dt yield, an observation that we conjecture to be caused by a stratification of the fuel in the implosion core. This effect may be present in ignition experiments planned on the National Ignition Facility.

The response of CR-39 nuclear track detector (TasTrak(®)) to protons in the energy range of 0.92-9.28 MeV has been studied. Previous studies of the CR-39 response to protons have been extended by examining the piece-to-piece variability in addition to the effects of etch time and etchant temperature; it is shown that the shape of the CR-39 response curve to protons can vary from piece-to-piece. Effects due to the age of CR-39 have also been studied using 5.5 MeV alpha particles over a 5-year period. Track diameters were found to degrade with the age of the CR-39 itself rather than the age of the tracks, consistent with previous studies utilizing different CR-39 over shorter time periods.

When used at facilities like OMEGA and the NIF, CR-39 is exposed to high vacuum environments before and after irradiation by charged particles and neutrons. Using an electrostatic linear accelerator at MIT, studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of high vacuum exposure on the sensitivity of CR-39 to fusion protons in the ~1-9 MeV energy range. High vacuum conditions, of order 10(-5) Torr, experienced by CR-39 samples at these facilities were emulated. It is shown that vacuum exposure times longer than ~16 h before proton irradiation result in a decrease in proton sensitivity, whereas no effect was observed for up to 67 h of vacuum exposure after proton irradiation. CR-39 sensitivity curves are presented for samples with prolonged exposure to high vacuum before and after proton irradiation.

A Thomson parabola ion spectrometer has been designed for use at the Multiterawatt (MTW) laser facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at the University of Rochester. This device uses parallel electric and magnetic fields to deflect particles of a given mass-to-charge ratio onto parabolic curves on the detector plane. Once calibrated, the position of the ions on the detector plane can be used to determine the particle energy. The position dispersion of both the electric and magnetic fields of the Thomson parabola was measured using monoenergetic proton and alpha particle beams from the SUNY Geneseo 1.7 MV tandem Pelletron accelerator. The sensitivity of Fujifilm BAS-TR imaging plates, used as a detector in the Thomson parabola, was also measured as a function of the incident particle energy over the range from 0.6 MeV to 3.4 MeV for protons and deuterons and from 0.9 MeV to 5.4 MeV for alpha particles. The device was used to measure the energy spectrum of laser-produced protons at MTW.

The nuclear track detector CR-39 is used extensively for charged particle diagnosis, in particular proton spectroscopy, at inertial confinement fusion facilities. These detectors can absorb x-ray doses from the experiments in the order of 1-100 Gy, the effects of which are not accounted for in the previous detector calibrations. X-ray dose absorbed in the CR-39 has previously been shown to affect the track size of alpha particles in the detector, primarily due to a measured reduction in the material bulk etch rate [Rojas-Herrera et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 86, 033501 (2015)]. Similar to the previous findings for alpha particles, protons with energies in the range 0.5-9.1 MeV are shown to produce tracks that are systematically smaller as a function of the absorbed x-ray dose in the CR-39. The reduction of track size due to x-ray dose is found to diminish with time between exposure and etching if the CR-39 is stored at ambient temperature, and complete recovery is observed after two weeks. The impact of this effect on the analysis of data from existing CR-39-based proton diagnostics on OMEGA and the National Ignition Facility is evaluated and best practices are proposed for cases in which the effect of x rays is significant.

Charged-particle spectroscopy is used to assess implosion symmetry in ignition-scale indirect-drive implosions for the first time. Surrogate D3He gas-filled implosions at the National Ignition Facility produce energetic protons via D+3He fusion that are used to measure the implosion areal density (ρR) at the shock-bang time. By using protons produced several hundred ps before the main compression bang, the implosion is diagnosed in-flight at a convergence ratio of 3–5 just prior to peak velocity. This isolates acceleration-phase asymmetry growth. For many surrogate implosions, proton spectrometers placed at the north pole and equator reveal significant asymmetries with amplitudes routinely ≳10%, which are interpreted as l=2 Legendre modes. With significant expected growth by stagnation, it is likely that these asymmetries would degrade the final implosion performance. X-ray self-emission images at stagnation show asymmetries that are positively correlated with the observed in-flight asymmetries and compar...

Measurements of yield, ion temperature, areal density (ρR), shell convergence, and bang time have been obtained in shock-driven, D2 and D3He gas-filled “exploding-pusher” inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions at the National Ignition Facility to assess the impact of ion kinetic effects. These measurements probed the shock convergence phase of ICF implosions, a critical stage in hot-spot ignition experiments. The data complement previous studies of kinetic effects in shock-driven implosions. Ion temperature and fuel ρR inferred from fusion-product spectroscopy are used to estimate the ion-ion mean free path in the gas. A trend of decreasing yields relative to the predictions of 2D draco hydrodynamics simulations with increasing Knudsen number (the ratio of ion-ion mean free path to minimum shell radius) suggests that ion kinetic effects are increasingly impacting the hot fuel region, in general agreement with previous results. The long mean free path conditions giving rise to ion kinetic effects in the gas are often prevalent during the shock phase of both exploding pushers and ablatively driven implosions, including ignition-relevant implosions.

A magnetic particle time-of-flight (MagPTOF) diagnostic has been designed to measure shock- and compression-bang time using D(3)He-fusion protons and DD-fusion neutrons, respectively, at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). This capability, in combination with shock-burn weighted areal density measurements, will significantly constrain the modeling of the implosion dynamics. This design is an upgrade to the existing particle time-of-flight (pTOF) diagnostic, which records bang times using DD or DT neutrons with an accuracy better than ±70 ps [H. G. Rinderknecht et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 10D902 (2012)]. The inclusion of a deflecting magnet will increase D(3)He-proton signal-to-background by a factor of 1000, allowing for the first time simultaneous measurements of shock- and compression-bang times in D(3)He-filled surrogate implosions at the NIF.

The effects of shock dynamics on compressibility of indirect-drive ignition-scale surrogate implosions, CH shells filled with D3He gas, have been studied using charged-particle spectroscopy. Spectral measurements of D3He protons produced at the shock-bang time probe the shock dynamics and in-flight characteristics of an implosion. The proton shock yield is found to vary by over an order of magnitude. A simple model relates the observed yield to incipient hot-spot adiabat, suggesting that implosions with rapid radiation-power increase during the main drive pulse may have a 2× higher hot-spot adiabat, potentially reducing compressibility. A self-consistent 1-D implosion model was used to infer the areal density (ρR) and the shell center-of-mass radius (Rcm) from the downshift of the shock-produced D3He protons. The observed ρR at shock-bang time is substantially higher for implosions, where the laser drive is on until near the compression bang time (“short-coast”), while longer-coasting implosions have lowe...

Proton radiography of the spatial structure and temporal evolution of plasma blowing off from a hohlraum wall reveals how the fill gas compresses the wall blow-off, inhibits plasma jet formation and impedes plasma stagnation in the hohlraum interior. The roles of spontaneously generated electric and magnetic fields in hohlraum dynamics and capsule implosions are demonstrated. The heat flux is shown to rapidly convect the magnetic field due to the Nernst effect, which is shown to be ?10 times faster than convection by the plasma fluid from expanded wall blow-off (vN???10v). This leads to inhibition of heat transfer from the gas region in the laser beam paths to the surrounding cold gas, resulting in a local plasma temperature increase. The experiments show that interpenetration of the two materials (gas and wall) occurs due to the classical Rayleigh?Taylor instability as the lighter, decelerating ionized fill gas pushes against the heavier, expanding gold wall blow-off. This experiment provides physics insight into the effects of fill gas on x-ray-driven implosions, and would impact the ongoing ignition experiments at the National Ignition Facility.

Filamentary electromagnetic fields previously observed in the coronae of laser-driven spherical targets [F. H. Seguin et al., Phys. Plasma. 19, 012701 (2012)] have been further investigated in laser-irradiated plastic foils. Face-on proton-radiography provides an axial view of these filaments and shows coherent cellular structure regardless of initial foil-surface conditions. The observed cellular fields are shown to have an approximately constant scale size of ∼210 μm throughout the plasma evolution. A discussion of possible field-generation mechanisms is provided and it is demonstrated that the likely source of the cellular field structure is the magnetothermal instability. Using predicted temperature and density profiles, the fastest growing modes of this instability were found to be slowly varying in time and consistent with the observed cellular size.

Charging of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) targets generates a potential well that traps energetic electrons within the target. Trapped electrons can preheat the fuel, raise the adiabat, degrade compression and perhaps have an effect on achieving the high areal densities (ρR) required for ignition and gain. The decay time of this potential is thus an important parameter for any calculations of preheat. A nonlinear model of electrical discharging of ICF capsules has been developed and is presented here. The empirical model, which captures the essential dynamics of the target voltage decay, incorporates previous charged-particle spectroscopic and radiographic measurements of the fields surrounding the target. On the basis of this model, it is shown that the decay time is weakly dependent on the initial voltage of the target. In addition, it is shown that currents through the target support fiber aid target discharging. Implications of these findings for inertial fusion energy targets without support fibers are discussed.

Measurements of energetic protons from cone-in-shell fast-igniton implosions at Omega have been conducted. In these experiments, charged-particle spectrometers were used to measure a significant population (>1013) of energetic protons (7.5 MeV max.), indicating the presence of strong electric fields. These energetic protons, observed in directions both transverse and forward relative to the direction of the short-pulse laser beam, have been used to study aspects of coupling efficiency of the petawatt fast-ignitior beam. Approximately 5% of the laser energy coupled to hot electrons was lost to fast ions. Forward going protons were less energetic and showed no dependence on laser intensity or whether the cone tip was intact when the short-pulse laser was fired. Maximum energies of protons emitted transverse to the cone-in-shell target scale with incident on-target laser intensity (2–6×1018W-cm−2), as described by the ponderomotive scaling (∝I1/2). It is shown that these protons are accelerated from the enti...

The compact Wedge Range Filter (WRF) proton spectrometer was developed for OMEGA and transferred to the National Ignition Facility (NIF) as a National Ignition Campaign diagnostic. The WRF measures the spectrum of protons from D-(3)He reactions in tuning-campaign implosions containing D and (3)He gas; in this work we report on the first proton spectroscopy measurement on the NIF using WRFs. The energy downshift of the 14.7-MeV proton is directly related to the total ρR through the plasma stopping power. Additionally, the shock proton yield is measured, which is a metric of the final merged shock strength.

Measurements of the total energy carried by fast ablator-ions in direct-drive implosions on OMEGA have been conducted using magnetic and Thomson Parabola spectrometers. It is shown that the total laser energy lost to fast ablator-ions for plastic and glass targets is comparable and that it is a modest fraction of the incident laser energy (≲1%). These measurements have been used to infer a non-linear, voltage-dependent target capacitance (∼0.1 nF) associated with the space-charge that accelerates the fast-ions.

A Thomson parabola ion spectrometer, implemented on the Laboratory for Laser Energetics Multi-Terawatt laser facility, has been used to study heavy-ion acceleration from ultra-intense laser-plasma interactions. These studies were conducted using 20 μm-thick flat foil targets with on-target intensities of 4−5×1019 W-cm−2. Several charge states of energetic heavy ions were accelerated from the rear of Al and Cu foils in the presence of hydrocarbon contaminants. In contrast to previous work, we show that the mean and maximum energies of each heavy-ion species scale linearly with only the charge of the ion, and not the charge-to-mass ratio, implying that the space-charge is not readily depleted as ions expand. It has been shown previously and observed here that the maximum heavy-ion energies are lower than that of protons, though a fundamental explanation for this discrepancy has not been provided. We show how a two-temperature electron distribution, observed in these experiments, explains these observations.

A monoenergetic proton source has been characterized and a modeling tool developed for proton radiography experiments at the OMEGA [T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Comm. 133, 495 (1997)] laser facility. Multiple diagnostics were fielded to measure global isotropy levels in proton fluence and images of the proton source itself provided information on local uniformity relevant to proton radiography experiments. Global fluence uniformity was assessed by multiple yield diagnostics and deviations were calculated to be ∼16% and ∼26% of the mean for DD and D(3)He fusion protons, respectively. From individual fluence images, it was found that the angular frequencies of ≳50 rad(-1) contributed less than a few percent to local nonuniformity levels. A model was constructed using the Geant4 [S. Agostinelli et al., Nuc. Inst. Meth. A 506, 250 (2003)] framework to simulate proton radiography experiments. The simulation implements realistic source parameters and various target geometries. The model was benchmarked with the radiographs of cold-matter targets to within experimental accuracy. To validate the use of this code, the cold-matter approximation for the scattering of fusion protons in plasma is discussed using a typical laser-foil experiment as an example case. It is shown that an analytic cold-matter approximation is accurate to within ≲10% of the analytic plasma model in the example scenario.

Dynamic return currents and electromagnetic field structure in laser-generated Z-pinch plasmas have been measured using proton deflectometry. Experiments were modeled to accurately interpret deflections observed in proton radiographs. Current flow is shown to begin on axis and migrate outwards with the expanding coronal plasma. Magnetic field strengths of ∼1 T are generated by currents that increase from ∼2 kA to ∼7 kA over the course of the laser pulse. Proton deflectometry has been demonstrated to be a practical alternative to other magnetic field diagnostics for these types of plasmas.

We report the first fast ion measurements in indirect-drive experiments, which were taken on OMEGA hohlraum and halfraum shots using simple filtered CR-39, a nuclear track detector, and a charged-particle spectrometer. Protons are observed in two energy regimes that are associated with different fast ion production mechanisms. In the first, resonance absorption at the hohlraum wall early in the laser pulse accelerates runaway electrons. In the second, fast electrons are produced with high energy from the two-plasmon decay instability in the exploding laser entrance hole, or from stimulated Raman scattering in the underdense gas fill. In both cases, the runaway electrons set up a strong electrostatic field that accelerates the measured ions. The former mechanism is observed to have an energy conversion efficiency ∼(0.6-4)×10-4 into fast protons depending on the hohlraum and drive. The latter mechanism has an estimated conversion efficiency from the main drive of ∼(0.5-2)×10-5 depending on the assumptions made.

Time-gated radiography with monoenergetic 15-MeV protons, 3-MeV protons, and 4-MeV alpha particles has revealed a rich and complex evolution of electromagnetic field structures in and around imploding, directly driven inertial-confinement fusion (ICF) targets at the OMEGA laser facility. Plastic-shell capsules and solid plastic spheres were imaged during and after irradiation with ICF-relevant laser drive (up to 6 × 1014 W/cm2). Radial filaments appeared while the laser was on; they filled, and were frozen into, the out-flowing corona, persisting until well after the end of the laser drive. Data from specially designed experiments indicate that the filaments were not generated by two-plasmon-decay instabilities or by Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities associated with shell acceleration. Before the onset of visible filamentation, quasi-spherical field structures appeared outside the capsule in the images in a form that suggests outgoing shells of net positive charge. We conjecture that these discrete shells are...

Solid-state nuclear track detectors, such as CR-39, are widely used in physics and in many inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments. In the ICF experiments, the particles of interest, such as D(3)He-protons, have ranges of order of the detector thickness. In this case, the dynamic range of the detector can be extended by recording data on both the front and back sides of the detector. Higher energy particles which are undetectable on the front surface can then be measured on the back of the detector. Studies of track formation under the conditions on the front and back of the detector reveal significant differences. Distinct front and back energy calibrations of CR-39 are therefore necessary and are presented for protons. Utilizing multiple surfaces with additional calibrations can extend the range of detectable energies on a single piece of CR-39 by up to 7-8 MeV. The track formation process is explored with a Monte Carlo code, which shows that the track formation difference between front and back is due to the non-uniform ion energy deposition in matter.

A magnetic recoil spectrometer (MRS) has been built and successfully used at OMEGA for measurements of down-scattered neutrons (DS-n), from which an areal density in both warm-capsule and cryogenic-DT implosions have been inferred. Another MRS is currently being commissioned on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) for diagnosing low-yield tritium-hydrogen-deuterium implosions and high-yield DT implosions. As CR-39 detectors are used in the MRS, the principal sources of background are neutron-induced tracks and intrinsic tracks (defects in the CR-39). The coincidence counting technique was developed to reduce these types of background tracks to the required level for the DS-n measurements at OMEGA and the NIF. Using this technique, it has been demonstrated that the number of background tracks is reduced by a couple of orders of magnitude, which exceeds the requirement for the DS-n measurements at both facilities.

Fast ignition is a two-step inertial confinement fusion concept where megaelectron volt electrons ignite the compressed core of an imploded fuel capsule driven by a relatively low-implosion velocity. Initial surrogate cone-in-shell, fast-ignitor experiments using a highly shaped driver pulse to assemble a dense core in front of the cone tip were performed on the OMEGA/OMEGA EP Laser [T. R. Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997); L. J. Waxer et al., Opt. Photonics News 16, 30 (2005)]. With optimal timing, the OMEGA EP pulse produced up to ∼1.4 × 107 additional neutrons which is a factor of ∼4 more neutrons than without short-pulse heating. Shock-breakout measurements performed with the same targets and drive conditions demonstrate an intact cone tip at the time when the additional neutrons are produced. Velocity interferometer system for any reflector measurements show that x-rays from the shell’s coronal plasma preheat the inner cone wall of thin-walled Au cones, while the thick-walled cones that are...

Time-gated, monoenergetic-proton radiography provides unique measurements of the electric (E) and magnetic (B) fields produced in laser-foil interactions and during the implosion of inertial-confinement-fusion capsules. These experiments resulted in the first observations of several new and important features: (1) observations of the generation, decay dynamics, and instabilities of megagauss B fields in laser-driven planar plastic foils, (2) the observation of radial E fields inside an imploding capsule, which are initially directed inward, reverse direction during deceleration, and are likely related to the evolution of the electron pressure gradient, and (3) the observation of many radial filaments with complex electromagnetic field striations in the expanding coronal plasmas surrounding the capsule. The physics behind and implications of such observed fields are discussed.