A novel flat-response x-ray detector has been developed for the measurement of radiation flux from a hohlraum. In order to obtain a flat response in the photon energy range of 0.1-4 keV, it is found that both the cathode and the filter of the detector can be made of gold. A further improvement on the compound filter can then largely relax the requirement of the calibration x-ray beam. The calibration of the detector, which is carried out on Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility at Institute of High Energy Physics, shows that the detector has a desired flat response in the photon energy range of 0.1-4 keV, with a response flatness smaller than 13%. The detector has been successfully applied in the hohlraum experiment on Shenguang-III prototype laser facility. The radiation temperatures inferred from the detector agree well with those from the diagnostic instrument Dante installed at the same azimuth angle from the hohlraum axis, demonstrating the feasibility of the detector.

The influence of focus spot and target thickness on multi-keV x-ray sources generated by 2ns duration laser heated solid targets are investigated on the Shenguang II laser facility. In the case of thick-foil targets, the experimental data and theoretical analysis show that the emission volume of the x-ray sources is sensitive to the laser focus spot and proportional to the 3 power of the focus spot size. The steady x-ray flux is proportional to the 5∕3 power of the focus spot size of the given laser beam in our experimental condition. In the case of thin-foil targets, experimental data show that there is an optimal foil thickness corresponding to the given laser parameters. With the given laser beam, the optimal thin-foil thickness is proportional to the −2∕3 power of the focus spot size, and the optimal x-ray energy of thin foil is independent of focus spot size.

An experimental study on the angular distribution and conversion of multi-keV X-ray sources produced from 2 ns-duration 527nm laser irradiated thick-foil targets on Shenguang II laser facility (SG-II) is reported. The angular distributions measured in front of the targets can be fitted with the function of f(u) ¼ aþ (12a)cos b u (u is the viewing angle relative to the target normal), where a ¼ 0.41 + 0.014, b ¼ 0.77 + 0.04 for Ti K-shell X-ray sources (4.75 keV for Ti K-shell), and a ¼ 0.085 + 0.06, b ¼ 0.59 + 0.07 for Ag/Pd/Mo L-shell X-ray sources (2-2.8 keV for Mo L-shell, 2.8-3.5 keV for Pd L-shell, and 3-3.8 keV for Ag L-shell). The isotropy of the angular distribution of L-shell emission is worse than that of the K-shell emission at larger viewing angle (.708), due to its larger optical depth (stronger self-absorption) in the cold plasma side lobe surrounding the central emission region, and in the central hot plasma region (emission region). There is no observable difference in the angular distributions of the L-shell X-ray emission among Ag, Pd, and Mo. The conversion efficiency of Ag/Pd/Mo L-shell X-ray sources is higher than that of the Ti K-shell X-ray sources, but the gain relative to the K-shell emission is not as high as that by using short pulse lasers. The conversion efficiency of the L-shell X-ray sources decreases with increasing atomic numbers (or X-ray photon energy), similar to the behavior of the K-shell X-ray source.

The ShenGuang-III (SG-III) laser facility was developed by the laser fusion research center (LFRC) for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) studies in China. Over 80 diagnostics have been installed at the SG-III laser facility, including optical diagnostics, x-ray imaging diagnostics, x-ray spectrum diagnostics, fusion product diagnostics and general diagnostics assistant systems, as well as central control and data acquisition systems. Various ICF experiments have also been performed at the SG-III laser facility. The first experiment explored the laser-target coupling process, including investigations of hohlraum radiation flux and laser energy coupling efficiency. The second experiment explored ablation and implosion physics, including shell asymmetry and implosion trajectory. The third experiment explored stagnation, hotspot dynamics and the nuclear phase of the implosion.

The conversion efficiency of titanium K-shell x rays is experimentally investigated in the Shenguang II laser facility. For comparison, Ti foils with the thickness of 3.5 and 5.8μm are irradiated under the same laser condition. The conversion efficiency with the thinner foils reaches about 3.5% and is about two times of that obtained with the thicker foils. The experiments show that the enhancement of the conversion efficiency should be due to the larger size of hot underdense plasmas generated with the thinner foil.