Demonstration of a spherical plasma mirror for the counter-propagating kilojoule-class petawatt LFEX laser system.

A counter-propagating laser-beam platform using a spherical plasma mirror was developed for the kilojoule-class petawatt LFEX laser. The temporal and spatial overlaps of the incoming and redirected beams were measured with an optical interferometer and an x-ray pinhole camera. The plasma mirror performance was evaluated by measuring fast electrons, ions, and neutrons generated in the counter-propagating laser interaction with a Cu-doped deuterated film on both sides. The reflectivity and peak intensity were estimated as ∼50% and ∼5 × 1018 W/cm2, respectively. The platform could enable studies of counter-streaming charged particles in high-energy-density plasmas for fundamental and inertial confinement fusion research.

Petawatt-laser direct heating of uniformly imploded deuterated-polystyrene shell target.

A uniformly imploded deuterated polystyrene (CD) shell target is fast-heated by a Petawatt (PW) laser without cone guide. The best illumination timing is found to be in a narrow region around 80+/-20 picoseconds from the onset of the stagnation phase, where thermal neutrons are enhanced four to five times by the PW laser of energy less than 10% of the implosion laser. The timing agrees with the timings of enhancement of the x-ray emission from the core and reduction of the bremsstrahlung radiation from scattered hot electrons. The PW laser, focused to the critical density point, generates the energetic electrons within as narrow an angle as 30 degrees , which then heats the imploded CD shell to enhance thermal neutrons. These results first demonstrate that the PW laser directly heats the imploded core without any conelike laser guide.

First demonstration of laser engagement of 1-Hz-injected flying pellets and neutron generation.

Pellet injection and repetitive laser illumination are key technologies for realizing inertial fusion energy. Numerous studies have been conducted on target suppliers, injectors, and tracking systems for flying pellet engagement. Here we for the first time demonstrate the pellet injection, counter laser beams' engagement and neutron generation. Deuterated polystyrene (CD) bead pellets, after free-falling for a distance of 18 cm at 1 Hz, are successfully engaged by two counter laser beams from a diode-pumped, ultra-intense laser HAMA. The laser energy, pulse duration, wavelength, and the intensity are 0.63 J per beam, 104 fs, and 811 nm, 4.7 × 10(18) W/cm(2), respectively. The irradiated pellets produce D(d,n)(3)He-reacted neutrons with a maximum yield of 9.5 × 10(4)/4π sr/shot. Moreover, the laser is found out to bore a straight channel with 10 µm-diameter through the 1-mm-diameter beads. The results indicate potentially useful technologies and findings for the next step in realizing inertial fusion energy.

Electron acceleration in an ultraintense-laser-illuminated capillary.

An ultraintense laser injected a 10 J of power at 1.053 microm in 0.5 ps into a glass capillary of 1 cm long and 60 microm in diameter and accelerated plasma electrons to 100 MeV. One- and two-dimensional particle codes describe wakefields with 10 GV/m gradient excited behind the laser pulse, which are guided by a plasma density channel far beyond the Rayleigh range. The blueshift of the laser spectrum supports that a plasma of 10(16) cm(-3) is inside the capillary. A bump at the high energy tail suggests the electron trapping in the wakefield.