A series of cryogenic, layered deuterium-tritium (DT) implosions have produced, for the first time, fusion energy output twice the peak kinetic energy of the imploding shell. These experiments at the National Ignition Facility utilized high density carbon ablators with a three-shock laser pulse (1.5 MJ in 7.5 ns) to irradiate low gas-filled (0.3  mg/cc of helium) bare depleted uranium hohlraums, resulting in a peak hohlraum radiative temperature ∼290  eV. The imploding shell, composed of the nonablated high density carbon and the DT cryogenic layer, is, thus, driven to velocity on the order of 380  km/s resulting in a peak kinetic energy of ∼21  kJ, which once stagnated produced a total DT neutron yield of 1.9×10^{16} (shot N170827) corresponding to an output fusion energy of 54 kJ. Time dependent low mode asymmetries that limited further progress of implosions have now been controlled, leading to an increased compression of the hot spot. It resulted in hot spot areal density (ρr∼0.3  g/cm^{2}) and stagnation pressure (∼360  Gbar) never before achieved in a laboratory experiment.

A new method for studying the generation and structure of carbon cluster ions is described. A rotating, translating carbon rod is subjected to the focused output of an excimer laser operating at 308 nm. The resulting plume is directly sampled by a high resolution reverse geometry mass spectrometer operating between 2 and 8 kV. In this paper we report initial results for the positive cluster ions up to n = 60. The mass spectra are bimodal with a minimum occurring between C2~ and C 3 i in agreement with findings of other workers using related techniques.Metastable neutral loss is observed for all cluster ions with n>5. Below CJtj the most intense neutral loss is C 3 but intense C I and C s loss is observed for a significant number of systems and C IO and C I4 for a few systems. Above Cjb the metastable loss spectra dramatically change and only C 2 , and a minor amount of C 4 loss, is observed. The C6i; ion is slightly enhanced in the mass spectrum but its metastable reactivity is no different than any of the other C n + ions above n = 30. The detailed results are interpreted in terms of stable structures of both the parent ions and neutral fragments that have been predicted theoretically.

Producing a burning plasma in the laboratory has been a long-standing milestone for the plasma physics community. A burning plasma is a state where alpha particle deposition from deuteriumtritium (DT) fusion reactions is the leading source of energy input to the DT plasma. Achieving these high thermonuclear yields in an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosion requires an efficient transfer of energy from the driving source, e.g., lasers, to the DT fuel. In indirect-drive ICF, the fuel is loaded into a spherical capsule which is placed at the center of a cylindrical radiation enclosure, the hohlraum. Lasers enter through each end of the hohlraum, depositing their energy in the walls where it is converted to x-rays that drive the capsule implosion. Maintaining a spherically symmetric, stable, and efficient drive is a critical challenge and focus of ICF research effort. Our program at the National Ignition Facility has steadily resolved challenges that began with controlling ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instability in implosions, followed by improving hohlraum-capsule x-ray coupling using low gas-fill hohlraums, improving control of time-dependent implosion symmetry, and reducing target engineering feature-generated perturbations. As a result of this program of work, our team is now poised to enter the burning plasma regime.

Hydrodynamic instability growth of capsule support membranes (or “tents”) has been recognized as one of the major contributors to the performance degradation in high-compression plastic capsule implosions at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [E. M. Campbell et al., AIP Conf. Proc. 429, 3 (1998)]. The capsules were supported by tents because the nominal 10-μm diameter fill tubes were not strong enough to support capsules by themselves in indirect-drive implosions on NIF. After it was recognized that the tents had a significant impact of implosion's stability, new alternative support methods were investigated. While some of these methods completely eliminated tent, other concepts still used tents, but concentrated on mitigating their impact. The tent-less methods included “fishing pole” reinforced fill tubes, cantilevered fill tubes, and thin-wire “tetra cage” supports. In the “fishing pole” concept, a 10-μm fill tube was inserted inside 30-μm fill tube for extra support with the connection point located 300 μm away from the capsule surface. The cantilevered fill tubes were supported by 12-μm thick SiC rods, offset by up to 300 μm from the capsule surfaces. In the “tetra-cage” concept, 2.5-μm thick wires (carbon nanotube yarns) were used to support a capsule. Other concepts used “polar tents” and a “foam-shell” to mitigate the effects of the tents. The “polar tents” had significantly reduced contact area between the tents and the capsule compared to the nominal tents. In the “foam-shell” concept, a 200-μm thick, 30 mg/cc SiO2 foam layer was used to offset the tents away from the capsule surface in an attempt to mitigate their effects. These concepts were investigated in x-ray radiography experiments and compared with perturbations from standard tent support. The measured perturbations in the “fishing pole,” cantilevered fill tube, and “tetra-cage” concepts compared favorably with (were smaller than) nominal tent perturbations and were recommended for further testing for feasibility in layered DT implosions. The “polar tents” were tested in layered DT implosions with a relatively-stable “high-foot” drive showing an improvement in neutron yield in one experiment compared to companion implosions with nominal tents. This article reviews and summarizes recent experiments on these alternate capsule support concepts. In addition, the concept of magnetic levitation is also discussed.

Photodissociation of energy selected C4H+ 6 ions: The isomerization barrier between butyne and 1,3 butadiene ion isomers Nitrobenzene ions, energy selected by photoelectron-photoion coincidence (PEPICO), are photodissociated by a pulsed dye laser. The time-delayed laser pulse is triggered by the detection of a zero energy electron indicating the formation of an ion of known internal energy. A detailed description of the experimental requirements is presented. This first report of the combination of PEPICO With ion photodissociation includes the determination of the nitrobenzene ion photodissociation cross section of (6 ± 2) X 10-19 cm 2 , and the study of kinetic energy released in that dissociation. Applications for other uses are discussed.