Demonstration of space-resolved x-ray Thomson scattering capability for warm dense matter experiments on the Z accelerator

Abstract

Experiments on the Sandia Z pulsed-power accelerator have demonstrated the ability to produce warm dense matter (WDM) states with unprecedented uniformity, duration, and size, which are ideal for investigations of fundamental WDM properties. For the first time, space-resolved x-ray Thomson scattering (XRTS) spectra from shocked carbon foams were recorded on Z. The large (> 20 MA) electrical current produced by Z was used to launch Al flyer plates up to 25 km/s. The impact of the flyer plate on a CH 2 foam target produced a shocked state with an estimated pressure of 0.75 Mbar, density of 0.52 g/cm 3 , and temperature of 4.3 eV. Both unshocked and shocked portions of the foam target were probed with 6.2 keV x-rays produced by focusing the Z-Beamlet laser onto a nearby Mn foil. The data is composed of three spatially distinct spectra that were simultaneously captured with a single spectrometer with high spectral (4.8 eV) and spatial (190 m) resolutions. Detailed spectral information from three target locations is provided simultaneously: the incident x-ray source, the scattered signal from unshocked foam, and the scattered signal from shocked foam.

1178 J, 527 nm near diffraction limited laser based on a complete closed-loop adaptive optics controlled off-axis multi-pass amplification laser system

“…X-ray imaging is an essential method to measure mass distribution and opacity of matter in high-energy density physics (HEDP) experiments, such as inertial confinement fusion (ICF) [1,2] , magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) [3,4] , z-pinch physics [5,6] , Thomson scattering [7] , and dynamic material properties researches [8] . High-energy lasers have become one of the most important tools [9][10][11][12] to generate X-rays with high spatial and temporal resolution [13] .…”

“…Compared with a 1 µm laser beam, a 527 nm laser beam can reduce the risk of target back-reflection and improve the coupling efficiency of the X-ray, meanwhile avoiding serious absorption and optical damage when using the ultraviolet laser [15][16][17][18] . In particular, the X-ray with energy of several kiloelectronvolts, which is suitable for X-ray radiography in the HEDP experiments [4,6,16] , Thomson scattering, and compressed materials studies [7,8] , could be generated by using a kilojoule-class nanosecond-level 527 nm laser.…”

Measurement of temperature and density using non-collective X-ray Thomson scattering in pulsed power produced warm dense plasmas

“…At present, only a few facilities in the world exist that couple a high-intensity laser to a pulsed power driver, thus limiting the implementation of this technique on pulsed power facilities. One such facility is Sandia National Laboratories, where in a recent work on the Z pulsed power generator, space-resolved X-ray Thomson scattering from shocked carbon foams was accomplished 14 . Carbon foams were shocked by using the flyer plate technique and the Z-beamlet laser was used to produce 6.2 keV X-ray from a Mn foil.…”

Collisional heating and adiabatic expansion of warm dense matter with intense relativistic electrons

“…Magnetic compression produced shock heating with both Z and X-pinches. X-ray Thomson measurements on the Z-facility indicate shock compression at 20 MA of carbon foams to a temperature of 4.3 eV and n e ∼ 10 20 cm −3 [10]. A two-wire X-pinch drove 40-µm of Al with 150 kA to produce 10-30 eV coronal plasmas with n e < 10 20 cm −3 [11].…”