Performance of Argus as a laser fusion facility

Abstract

During the fifteen months that the Argus laser facility has been operating we have had two primary goals. These are: (1) to provide focusable, well characterized, high power beams for laser fusion experiments and (2) to further understand the propagation of high power and energy pulses. The propagation experiments have already led to increases in the laser output power and system reliability. Pulses appropriate for advanced targets are shaped to optimize the compression and heating of the target. In general they stress the laser in both limits of energy and power. In this work several results significant to the laser fusion program were realized. The neutron output of fusion targets increased by almost two orders of magnitude to more than 10/sup 9/ neutron/shot. An improved beam propagation technique (image relaying) was developed and partially implemented. It increased the focusable output power for short pulses (30-100 ps) to more than 4.0 TW. More than one kilojoule/beam was extracted from the laser in a high quality beam in a one nanosecond Gaussian pulse. A complex two step optical pulse was generated and successfully amplified to peak powers of more than 3.0 TW. The most recent of the system upgrades are complete image relaying and improved ''C'' laser disk edge coatings which are presently being implemented. These changes will further improve laser and target performance