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Capsule implosions for continuum x-ray backlighting of opacity samples at the National Ignition Facility.

Yekaterina P OpachichRobert F HeeterM A BarriosE M GarciaR S CraxtonJ A KingD A LiedahlP W McKentyMarilyn SchneiderM J MayR ZhangP W RossJ L KlineA S MooreJ L WeaverKirk A FlippoTheodore S Perry
Published in: Physics of plasmas (2017)
Direct drive implosions of plastic capsules have been performed at the National Ignition Facility to provide a broad-spectrum (500-2000 eV) X-ray continuum source for X-ray transmission spectroscopy. The source was developed for the high-temperature plasma opacity experimental platform. Initial experiments using 2.0 mm diameter polyalpha-methyl styrene capsules with ∼20 μm thickness have been performed. X-ray yields of up to ∼1 kJ/sr have been measured using the Dante multichannel diode array. The backlighter source size was measured to be ∼100 μm FWHM, with ∼350 ps pulse duration during the peak emission stage. Results are used to simulate transmission spectra for a hypothetical iron opacity sample at 150 eV, enabling the derivation of photometrics requirements for future opacity experiments.
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