Indirectly Driven, High Convergence Inertial Confinement Fusion Implosions

Abstract

A series of high convergence, indirectly driven implosions has been done with the Nova Laser Fusion facility. These implosions were well characterized by a variety of measurements; computer models are in good agreement. The imploded fuel areal density was measured using a technique based on secondary neutron spectroscopy. At capsule convergences of 24:1, comparable to what is required for the hot spot of ignition scale capsules, these capsules achieved fuel densities of 19 g/${\mathrm{cm}}^3$. Independent measurements of density, burn duration, and ion temperature gave $n\tau \theta =1.7\mathrm{}\pm 0.9\times {10}^{14}\mathrm{keV} \frac{\mathrm{s}}{{\mathrm{cm}}^3}$.