Modeling characterization of the National Ignition Facility focal spot

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High fluence 1.05 {mu}m performance tests using 20 ns shaped pulses on the Beamlet prototype laser

Beamlet is a single beamline, nearly full scale physics prototype of the 192 beam Nd:Glass laser driver of the National Ignition Facility. It is used to demonstrate laser performance of the NIF multipass amplifier architecture. Initial system characterization tests have all been performed at pulse durations less than 10 ns. Pinhole closure and modulation at the end of long pulses are a significant concern for the operation of NIF. We recently demonstrated the generation, amplification and propagation of high energy pulses temporally shaped to mimic 20 ns long ignition pulse shapes at fluence levels exceeding the nominal NIF design requirements for Inertial Confinement Fusion by Indirect Drive. We also demonstrated the effectiveness of a new conical pinhole design used in the transport spatial filter to mitigate plasma closure effects and increase closure time to exceed the duration of the 20 ns long pulse

Recent performance results of the National Ignition Facility Beamlet demonstration project

The laser driver for the National Ignition Facility will be a departure from previous inertial confinement fusion laser architecture of a master oscillator single pass power amplifier (MOPA) design. The laser will use multi-segment Nd:Glass amplifiers in a multipass cavity arrangement, which can be assembled into compact and cost effective arrays to deliver the required multi- megajoule energy to target. A single beam physics prototype, the Beamlet, has been in operation for over two years and has demonstrated the feasibility of this architecture. We present a short review of Beamlet`s performance and limitations based on beam quality both at its fundamental and frequency converted wavelengths of 1.053 and 0.351 {mu}m

Third-harmonic performance of the Beamlet prototype laser

The Beamlet laser is a nearly full-scale, single-aperture prototype of the driver design for the National Ignition Facility (NIF). As part of a test and validation plan for the NIF design, Beamlet was recently equipped with final focusing optics and diagnostics for the purpose of evaluating integrated component performance and equivalent target-plane irradiance conditions at the 0.351-{mu}m output wavelength specified for NIF targets. A 37-cm aperture two-crystal converter scheme generates the third harmonic of the Nd:glass 1.053-{mu}m wavelength with high efficiency. The efficiency of the converter has been characterized and is reported, along with detailed measurements of the near-field and far-field UV irradiance distributions at operating conditions up to and exceeding red-line levels for the NIF. Dependences of observed beam quality on critical laser parameters including output power, B-integral, and spatial filtering are discussed and compared with numerical simulations

Limitation on Prepulse Level for Cone-Guided Fast-Ignition Inertial Confinement Fusion

The viability of fast-ignition (FI) inertial confinement fusion hinges on the efficient transfer of laser energy to the compressed fuel via multi-MeV electrons. Preformed plasma due to the laser prepulse strongly influences ultraintense laser plasma interactions and hot electron generation in the hollow cone of an FI target. We induced a prepulse and consequent preplasma in copper cone targets and measured the energy deposition zone of the main pulse by imaging the emitted K_α radiation. Simulation of the radiation hydrodynamics of the preplasma and particle in cell modeling of the main pulse interaction agree well with the measured deposition zones and provide an insight into the energy deposition mechanism and electron distribution. It was demonstrated that a under these conditions a 100 mJ prepulse eliminates the forward going component of ∼2–4 MeV electrons

Improvements in power, precision, and shot rate from the Nova target irradiation facility

Recent improvements in the Nova amplifier system allow us to deliver higher energy and power to targets and to perform experiments with higher precision. Improved operating efficiency has increased the shot rate. 4 refs., 2 figs

Limitation on Pre-pulse Level for Cone-Guided Fast-Ignition ICF

The viability of fast-ignition (FI) inertial confinement fusion hinges on the efficient transfer of laser energy to the compressed fuel via multi-MeV electrons. Pre-formed plasma due to laser pre-pulse strongly influences ultra-intense laser plasma interactions and hot electron generation in the hollow cone of an FI target. We induced a prepulse and consequent preplasma in copper cone targets and measured the energy deposition zone of the main pulse by imaging the emitted K{sub {alpha}} radiation. An integrated simulation of radiation hydrodynamics for the pre-plasma and particle in cell for the main pulse interactions agree well with the measured deposition zones and provide an insight into the enrgy deposition mechanism and electron distribution. It was demonstrated that a under these conditions a 100mJ pre-pulse completely eliminates the forward going component of {approx}2-4MeV electrons. Consequences for cone-guided fast-ignition are discussed

A programmable beam shaping system for tailoring the profile of high fluence laser beams

Customized spatial light modulators have been designed and fabricated for use as precision beam shaping devices in fusion class laser systems. By inserting this device in a low-fluence relay plane upstream of the amplifier chain, 'blocker' obscurations can be programmed into the beam profile to shadow small isolated flaws on downstream optical components that might otherwise limit the system operating energy. In this two stage system, 1920 x 1080 bitmap images are first imprinted on incoherent, 470 nm address beams via pixilated liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) modulators. To realize defined masking functions with smooth apodized shapes and no pixelization artifacts, address beam images are projected onto custom fabricated optically-addressable light valves. Each valve consists of a large, single pixel liquid cell in series with a photoconductive Bismuth silicon Oxide (BSO) crystal. The BSO crystal enables bright and dark regions of the address image to locally control the voltage supplied to the liquid crystal layer which in turn modulates the amplitude of the coherent beams at 1053 nm. Valves as large as 24 mm x 36 mm have been fabricated with low wavefront distortion (<0.5 waves) and antireflection coatings for high transmission (>90%) and etalon suppression to avoid spectral and temporal ripple. This device in combination with a flaw inspection system and optic registration strategy represents a new approach for extending the operational lifetime of high fluence laser optics

Status of the "ARC", a Quad of High-Intensity Beam Lines at the National Ignition Facility

We present the status of plans to commission a short-pulse, quad of beams on the National Ignition Facility (NIF), capable of generating > 10 kJ of energy in 10 ps. These beams will initially provide an advanced radiographic capability (ARC) to generate brilliant, x-ray back-lighters for diagnosing fuel density and symmetry during ignition experiments. A fiber, mode-locked oscillator generates the seed pulse for the ARC beam line in the NIF master oscillator room (MOR). The 200 fs, 1053 nm oscillator pulse is amplified and stretched in time using a chirped-fiber-Bragg grating. The stretched pulse is split to follow two separate beam paths through the chain. Each pulse goes to separate pulse tweakers where the dispersion can be adjusted to generate a range of pulse widths and delays at the compressor output. After further fiber amplification the two pulses are transported to the NIF preamplifier area and spatially combined using shaping masks to form a split-spatial-beam profile that fits in a single NIF aperture. This split beam propagates through a typical NIF chain where the energy is amplified to several kilojoules. A series of mirrors directs the amplified, split beam to a folded grating compressor that is located near the equator of the NIF target chamber. Figure 1 shows a layout of the beam transport and folded compressor, showing the split beam spatial profile. The folder compressor contains four pairs of large, multi-layer-dielectric gratings; each grating in a pair accepts half of the split beam. The compressed output pulse can be 0.7-50 ps in duration, depending on the setting of the pulse tweaker in the MOR. The compressor output is directed to target chamber center using four additional mirrors that include a 9 meter, off-axis parabola. The final optic, immediately following the parabola, is a pair of independently adjustable mirrors that can direct the pair of ARC beams to individual x-ray backlighter targets. The first mirror after the compressor leaks a small fraction of the light that is transported to a diagnostics station where detailed measurements of the spatial and temporal characteristics of the ARC pulse will be recorded for each shot. A NIF quad of short-pulse beams will support up to eight, independently-timed, short-pulse beams, capable of producing an x-ray motion picture. Alternatively, the combined aperture of the quad can direct > 10 kJ of energy in 10 psec onto a single target, enabling research into fast ignition and high-energy-density science on the NIF. We will discuss modifications to the NIF to accommodate ARC, including features such as simultaneous NIF-ARC operation in the same NIF quad, protection against backward propagating pulses from the target and plans to coherently add split beams