Fabrication of disk-shaped, deuterated resorcinol/formaldehyde foam target for laser–plasma experiments

Resorcinol/formaldehyde (RF) foam resin is an attractive material as a low-density target in high-power laser–plasma experiments because of its fine network structure, transparency in the visible region, and low-Z element (hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen) composition. In this study, we developed disk-shaped RF foam and deuterated RF foam targets with 40–200 µm thickness and approximately 100 mg/cm3 density having a network structure from 100 nm to a few micrometers cell size. By deuteration, the polymerization rate was drastically slowed down owing to kinetic isotope effects. These targets were used in high-power laser experiments where a megaelectronvolt proton beam was successfully generated.Kaneyasu Y., Nagai K., Cadatal-Raduban M., et al. Fabrication of disk-shaped, deuterated resorcinol/formaldehyde foam target for laser–plasma experiments. High Power Laser Science and Engineering 9, e31 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1017/hpl.2021.15

Fabrication of high-concentration Cu-doped deuterated targets for fast ignition experiments

In high-energy-density physics, including inertial fusion energy using high-power lasers, doping tracer atoms and deuteration of target materials play an important role in diagnosis. For example, a low-concentration Cu dopant acts as an x-ray source for electron temperature detection while a deuterium dopant acts as a neutron source for fusion reaction detection. However, the simultaneous achievement of Cu doping, a deuterated polymer, mechanical toughness and chemical robustness during the fabrication process is not so simple. In this study, we report the successful fabrication of a Cu-doped deuterated target. The obtained samples were characterized by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Simultaneous measurements of Cu K-shell x-ray emission and beam fusion neutrons were demonstrated using a petawatt laser at Osaka University.Ikeda T., Kaneyasu Y., Hosokawa H., et al. Fabrication of high-concentration Cu-doped deuterated targets for fast ignition experiments. Nuclear Fusion 63, 016010 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-4326/aca2ba

Fabrication of high-concentration Cu-doped deuterated targets for fast ignition experiments

先端科学・社会共創推進機構In high-energy-density physics, including inertial fusion energy using high-power lasers, doping tracer atoms and deuteration of target materials play an important role in diagnosis. For example, a low-concentration Cu dopant acts as an x-ray source for electron temperature detection while a deuterium dopant acts as a neutron source for fusion reaction detection. However, the simultaneous achievement of Cu doping, a deuterated polymer, mechanical toughness and chemical robustness during the fabrication process is not so simple. In this study, we report the successful fabrication of a Cu-doped deuterated target. The obtained samples were characterized by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Simultaneous measurements of Cu K-shell x-ray emission and beam fusion neutrons were demonstrated using a petawatt laser at Osaka University