Plastic bubbles and tamper 〈ρR〉 measurements for laser-driven fusion experiments

Abstract

A new diagnostic technique is described which makes use of large‐diameter (∼5 cm) thin‐walled (∼10 μm) plastic bubbles to collect neutron‐activated tamper material in a laser‐driven fusion experiment. The plastic bubble and radioactive material are dissolved in a solvent and counted in a ?erenkov scheme to determine the average tamper 〈ρR〉 at peak compression conditions. The bubble energy flow and other plasma diagnostic characteristics are also briefly discussed.