An electromagnetic solenoid was developed to study the effect of magnetic fields on electron thermal transport in laser plasmas. The solenoid, which is driven by a pulsed power system suppling 30 kJ, achieves magnetic fields of 13 T. The field strength was measured on the solenoid axis with a magnetic probe and optical Zeeman splitting. The measurements agree well with analytical estimates. A method for optimizing the solenoid design to achieve magnetic fields exceeding 20 T is presented.
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) requires diagnostics to analyze high-energy density physics experiments. As a core NIF early light diagnostic, this system measures shock velocities, shock breakout times, and shock emission of targets with sizes from 1 to 5 mm. A 659.5 nm VISAR probe laser illuminates the target. An 8-inch-diameter fused silica triplet lens collects light at f/3 inside the 33-foot-diameter vacuum chamber. The optical relay sends the image out an equatorial port, through a 2-inch-thick vacuum window, and into two VISAR (Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflector) interferometers. Both streak cameras and CCD cameras record the images. Total track is 75 feet. The front end of the optical relay can be temporarily removed from the equatorial port, allowing for other experimenters to use that port. The first triplet can be no closer than 500 mm from the target chamber center and is protected from debris by a blast window that is replaced after every event. Along with special coatings on the mirrors, cutoff filters reject the NIF drive laser wavelengths and pass a band of wavelengths for VISAR, for passive shock breakout light, or for thermal imaging light (bypassing the interferometers). Finite Element Analysis was performed on all mounting structures. All optical lenses are on kinematic mounts, so that the pointing accuracy of the optical axis can be checked. A two-color laser alignment scheme is discussed.
For the characterization of inertial confinement fusion plasmas we implemented a high-energy 4w probe laser at the Nova laser facility. A total energy of > 50 Joules at 4w, a focal spot size of order 100 pm, and a pointing accuracy of 100 pm was demonstrated for target shots. This laser provides intensities of up to 3 x 1014W cmF2 and therefore fulfills high-power requirements for laser-plasma interaction experiments. The 40 probe laser is now routinely used for Thomson scattering. Successful experiments were performed in gas-filled hohlraums at electron densities of n e > 2 X 102km-3 which represents the highest density plasma so far being diagnosed with Thomson scattering.
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