We report on the detection of the time-dependent B-field amplitude and topology in a laser-driven solenoid. The B-field inferred from both proton deflectometry and Faraday rotation ramps up linearly in time reaching 210 ± 35 T at the end of a 0.75-ns laser drive with 1 TW at 351 nm. A lumped-element circuit model agrees well with the linear rise and suggests that the blow-off plasma screens the field between the plates leading to an increased plate capacitance that converts the laser-generated hot-electron current into a voltage source that drives current through the solenoid. ALE3D modeling shows that target disassembly and current diffusion may limit the B-field increase for longer laser drive. Scaling of these experimental results to a National Ignition Facility (NIF) hohlraum target size (∼0.2cm^{3}) indicates that it is possible to achieve several tens of Tesla.
Application of a magnetic field to an indirect drive inertial confinement fusion target requires diffusion of the field through the high-Z and electrically conducting Hohlraum. The onset of the external field generates eddy currents in the Hohlraum wall that result in (1) a reduction of the peak field at the capsule, (2) heating of the Hohlraum wall through Ohmic dissipation, and (3) wall movement due to the inward force from the eddy current interacting with the field. Heating of the wall causes an increase in blackbody radiation which can preheat the capsule and frozen deuterium–tritium fuel, while wall motion leads to potential misalignment of the lasers at the Hohlraum wall. Limiting these detrimental effects sets requirements on the tolerable magnitude of each effect. We present a nonlinear model for B-field diffusion through an infinitely long thin-walled cylinder with a temperature dependent resistivity, to show that a 15 μm thick wall of pure gold fails to meet these requirements. A new Hohlraum material made from an alloy of Au and Ta has a measured resistivity of ≥60 times that of Au and is shown with the nonlinear model to meet the requirements for magnetization. We compare the nonlinear model to simulations of the actual Hohlraum target using a finite element code which includes temperature-dependent Hohlraum resistivity.
The injector of the Flash X-Ray (FXR) accelerator has a significantly larger than expected beam emittance. A computer modeling effort involving three different injector design codes was undertaken to characterize the FXR injector and determine the cause of the large emittance. There were some variations between the codes, but in general the simulations were consistent and pointed towards a much smaller normalized, rms emittance (36 cm-mr) than what was measured (193 cm-mr) at the exit of the injector using a pepperpot technique. The simulations also indicated that the present diode design was robust with respect to perturbations to the nominal design. Easily detected mechanical alignment/position errors and magnet errors did not lead to appreciable increase in the simulated emittance. The physics of electron emission was not modeled by any of the codes and could be the source of increased emittance. The nominal simulation assumed uniform Child-Langmuir Law emission from the velvet cathode and no shroud emission. Simulations that looked at extreme non-uniform cathode and shroud emission scenarios resulted in doubling of the emittance. An alternative approach was to question the pepperpot measurement. Simulations of the measurement showed that the pepperpot aperture foil could double the emittance with respect to the non-disturbed beam. This leads to a diplomatic explanation of the discrepancy between predicted and measured emittance where the fault is shared. The measured value is too high due to the effect of the diagnostic on the beam and the simulations are too low because of unaccounted cathode and/or shroud emission physics. Fortunately there is a relatively simple experiment that can resolve the emittance discrepancy. If the large measured emittance value is correct, the beam envelope is emittance dominated at modest values of focusing field and beam radius. Measurements of the beam envelope on an imaging foil at the exit of the injector would lead to an accurate value of the emittance. If the emittance was approximately half of the measured value, the beam envelope is slightly space charge dominated, but envelope measurements would set reasonable bounds on the emittance value. For an emittance much less than 100 cm-mr, the envelope measurements would be insensitive to emittance. The outcome of this envelope experiment determines if a redesigned diode is needed or if more sophisticated emittance measurements should be pursued.
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