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 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.
Understanding and controlling time-dependent implosion asymmetry are essential requirements to achieve ignition. In a recent symmetry tuning experiment at the 100 kJ laser facility, an effective time-dependent symmetry control was demonstrated by modifying the ratio of the inner beam power to the outer beam power. The hohlraum radiation and the P2 drive asymmetry of a shot used to measure backlit shell asymmetry have been analyzed, and the sensitivity of the P2 shell asymmetry to the drive asymmetry has been illustrated by using the two-dimensional code LARED. The variation in the shell P2 distortion, resulting from the variation in the P2 drive asymmetry due to the three-dimensional perturbing effects introduced to the hohlraum by the diagnostic windows (DWs) and the eight removed beams, has been assessed quantitatively using a three-dimensional postprocessor. It is found that the DWs and the four removed inner beams do not vary the P2 drive asymmetry, while the four removed outer beams cause a ∼−1% variation in the P2 drive asymmetry, resulting in a more prolate implosion.
A 100 kJ-level laser facility has been designed to study inertial confinement fusion physics in China. This facility incorporates various diagnostic techniques, including optical, x-ray imaging, x-ray spectrum, and fusion product diagnostics, as well as general diagnostics assistance systems and central control and data acquisition systems. This paper describes recent developments in diagnostics at the facility.
We present the first integrated implosion experiments which were carried out on the SG-III Laser facility in 2015. Vacuum hohlraums and squared laser pulses were used in the experiments. The purpose of the experiments was to demonstrate the one-dimensional implosion performance at low-convergence ratios. To characterize the implosion performance, the hohlraum energetics, the implosion dynamics and the nuclear products were measured. In particular, the radiation flux was diagnosed through laser entrance hole at different angles by an array of flat response detectors, and the energy and the spectrum of the back-scattered lasers were monitored for 8 laser beams which correspond to 2 beams in each cone at the lower hemisphere. Moreover, the hotspot shape was imaged using KB microscopes of high spatial resolution simultaneously from the equator and polar views. Taking advantage of the high resolution, some detailed structures in the hotspots were noticed. For the best implosion performances, the neutron yields over 1D calculation reached 50% at the convergence-ratios of 15.
A tetrahedral hohlraum with four half-cylindrical cavities (FHCH) is proposed to balance tradeoffs among the drive symmetry, coupling efficiency, and plasma filling of the hohlraum performance for indirectly driven inertial confinement fusion. The peak drive symmetry in the FHCH with a cavity-to-capsule ratio (CCR) of 2.2 is comparable to those in the spherical hohlraum of CCR = 4.5 with six laser entrance holes (6LEHs-Sph.) ((Lan et al 2014 Phys. Plasmas 21 010704) and three-axis cylindrical hohlraum (6LEHs-Cyls.) of CCR = 2.0 (Kuang et al 2016 Sci. Rep. 6 34636) and the filling time of plasma is close to the ones in the 6LEHs-Cyls. and the ignition target Rev5-CH of the national ignition campaign, and about half of that in the 6LEHs-Sph. In particular, the coupling efficiency is about 19% and 16% higher than those of the 6LEHs-Sph. and 6LEHs-Cyls., respectively. Besides, preliminary study indicates that the FHCH has a robust symmetry to uncertainties of power imbalance and pointing errors of laser beams. Furthermore, utilizing the FHCH, the feasibility of a tetrahedral indirect drive approach on the national ignition facility and hybrid indirect-direct drive approach with the laser arrangement designed specially for 6LEHs-Sph. or 6LEHs-Cyls., is also envisioned. Therefore, the proposed hohlraum configuration merits consideration as an alternative route to indirect-drive ignition.
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