Measuring symmetry of implosions in cryogenic Hohlraums at the NIF using gated x-ray detectors (invited)

Ignition of imploding inertial confinement capsules requires, among other things, controlling the symmetry with high accuracy and fidelity. We have used gated x-ray imaging, with 10 μm and 70 ps resolution, to detect the x-ray emission from the imploded core of symmetry capsules at the National Ignition Facility. The measurements are used to characterize the time dependent symmetry and the x-ray bang time of the implosion from two orthogonal directions. These measurements were one of the primary diagnostics used to tune the parameters of the laser and Hohlraum to vary the symmetry and x-ray bang time of the implosion of cryogenically cooled ignition scale deuterium/helium filled plastic capsules. Here, we will report on the successful measurements performed with up to 1.2 MJ of laser energy in a fully integrated cryogenics gas-filled ignition-scale Hohlraum and capsule illuminated with 192 smoothed laser beams. We will describe the technique, the accuracy of the technique, and the results of the variation in symmetry with tuning parameters, and explain how that set was used to predictably tune the implosion symmetry as the laser energy, the laser cone wavelength separation, and the Hohlraum size were increased to ignition scales. We will also describe how to apply that technique to cryogenically layered tritium-hydrogen-deuterium capsules.     

Phase-contrast imaging using ultrafast x-rays in laser-shocked materials

High-energy x-rays, >10?keV, can be efficiently produced from ultrafast laser target interactions with many applications to dense target materials in inertial confinement fusion and high-energy density physics. These same x-rays can also be applied to measurements of low-density materials inside high-density Hohlraum environments. In the experiments presented, high-energy x-ray images of laser-shocked polystyrene are produced through phase contrast imaging. The plastic targets are nominally transparent to traditional x-ray absorption but show detailed features in regions of high density gradients due to refractive effects often called phase contrast imaging. The 200 TW Trident laser is used both to produce the x-ray source and to shock the polystyrene target. X-rays at 17 keV produced from 2 ps, 100 J laser interactions with a 12?μm molybdenum wire are used to produce a small source size, required for optimizing refractive effects. Shocks are driven in the 1 mm thick polystyrene target using 2 ns, 250 J, 532 nm laser drive with phase plates. X-ray images of shocks compare well to one-dimensional hydro calculations.     

K-shell emission x-ray imaging of Z-pinch plasmas with a pinhole and a logarithmic spiral crystal

An in-chamber, mini x-ray imaging instrument employs a pinhole and a logarithmic spiral crystal has been developed for obtaining K-shell line images of the imploding aluminum wire array on the "Yang" accelerator. The logarithmic spiral crystal acts as a monochromator and a non-dispersive mirror that reflects the pinhole image to a x-ray film detector with a very narrow photon energy bandwidth (<1 eV, mainly determined by the width of rocking curve of the crystal). Two imaging configurations with the use of Quartz (10 ?10) crystal and Mica (002) crystal are designed, respectively, to image the Al Ly(α2) line (1727.7 eV) emission and Al He(α) intercombination line (1588.3 eV) emission. The primary experimental data corresponding to these two configurations are presented and discussed.     

基于Bayer滤波的彩色面阵CCD调制传递函数

介绍了基于Bayer滤波获取彩色图像的方法.根据CCD离散采样的工作特点,构建了采用Bayer滤波的彩色面阵CCD的调制传递函数(MTF).通过数值计算和实验对基于Bayer滤波的彩色面阵CCD和单色面阵CCD的MTF值进行了对比分析.结果表明,基于Bayer滤波的彩色面阵CCD的MTF值显著低于单色面阵CCD的MTF值.当像元边长与对应中心距相等时,基于Bayer滤波的彩色面阵CCD在Nyquist频率处的MTF为0.067 6,单色面阵CCD在Nyquist频率处的MTF值为0.405 3;分辨率板成像实验表明,相同成像条件下,前者的分辨率比后者的分辨率降低约40％,基本符合MTF对比分析结论.     

Advanced experimental applications for x-ray transmission gratings spectroscopy using a novel grating fabrication method

A novel fabrication method for soft x-ray transmission grating and other optical elements is presented. The method uses focused-ion-beam technology to fabricate high-quality free standing grating bars on transmission electron microscopy grids. High quality transmission gratings are obtained with superb accuracy and versatility. Using these gratings and back-illuminated CCD camera, absolutely calibrated x-ray spectra can be acquired for soft x-ray source diagnostics in the 100-3000 eV spectral range. Double grating combinations of identical or different parameters are easily fabricated, allowing advanced one-shot application of transmission grating spectroscopy. These applications include spectroscopy with different spectral resolutions, bandwidths, dynamic ranges, and may serve for identification of high-order contribution, and spectral calibrations of various x-ray optical elements.     

Ultrahigh resolution soft x-ray emission spectrometer at BL07LSU in SPring-8

An extremely high resolution flat field type slit less soft x-ray emission spectrometer has been designed and constructed for the long undulator beamline BL07LSU in SPring-8. By optimizing the ruling parameters of two cylindrical gratings, a high energy resolution ΔE < 100 meV and/or an E∕ΔE ~ 10 000 are expected for the energy range of 350 eV - 750 eV taking into account the broadening by the spatial resolution (25 μm) of a CCD detector. A coma-free operation mode proposed by Strocov et al., is also applied to eliminate both defocus and coma aberrations. The spectrometer demonstrated experimentally that E/ΔE = 10 050 and 8046 for N 1s (402.1 eV) and Mn 2p (641.8 eV) edges, respectively.     

Application of a charge-coupled device photon-counting technique to three-dimensional element analysis of a plant seed (alfalfa) using a full-field x-ray fluorescence imaging microscope

A full-field x-ray fluorescence imaging microscope using a Wolter mirror was constructed at Photon Factory BL3C2. White x rays from a bending magnet were used to excite x-ray fluorescence and to enhance the x-ray fluorescence intensity. A photon-counting method using a charge-coupled device was applied to obtain an x-ray fluorescence spectrum at the image plane. The spatial distributions of some specific atoms such as Fe and Zn were obtained from photon-counting calculations. An energy resolution of 220 eV at the Fe Kalpha line was obtained from the x-ray fluorescence spectrum by the photon-counting method. The newly developed three-dimensional element mappings of the specific atoms were accomplished by the photon-counting method and a reconstruction technique using computed tomography.     

用于细小工业管道的视频探测器

介绍一种在内径20mm的工业管道内进行探测的视频传感器,对所用的微小型CCD摄像头、照明用LED及其结构进行了讨论.介绍了用于图像采集、显示的硬件结构,对采集到的图像进行直方图均衡化处理,获得较好的处理结果,提高了操作人员观察的效率.     

Spectroscopy of betatron radiation emitted from laser-produced wakefield accelerated electrons

X-ray betatron radiation is produced by oscillations of electrons in the intense focusing field of a laser-plasma accelerator. These hard x-rays show promise for use in femtosecond-scale time-resolved radiography of ultrafast processes. However, the spectral characteristics of betatron radiation have only been inferred from filter pack measurements. In order to achieve higher resolution spectral information about the betatron emission, we used an x-ray charge-coupled device to record the spectrum of betatron radiation, with a full width at half maximum resolution of 225 eV. In addition, we have recorded simultaneous electron and x-ray spectra along with x-ray images that allow for a determination of the betatron emission source size, as well as differences in the x-ray spectra as a function of the energy spectrum of accelerated electrons.     

The first measurements of soft x-ray flux from ignition scale Hohlraums at the National Ignition Facility using DANTE (invited)

The first 96 and 192 beam vacuum Hohlraum target experiments have been fielded at the National Ignition Facility demonstrating radiation temperatures up to 340 eV and fluxes of 20 TW/sr as viewed by DANTE representing an ～20?times flux increase over NOVA/Omega scale Hohlraums. The vacuum Hohlraums were irradiated with 2 ns square laser pulses with energies between 150 and 635 kJ. They produced nearly Planckian spectra with about 30±10% more flux than predicted by the preshot radiation hydrodynamic simulations. To validate these results, careful verification of all component calibrations, cable deconvolution, and software analysis routines has been conducted. In addition, a half Hohlraum experiment was conducted using a single 2 ns long axial quad with an irradiance of ～2×10(15)?W/cm(2) for comparison with NIF Early Light experiments completed in 2004. We have also completed a conversion efficiency test using a 128-beam nearly uniformly illuminated gold sphere with intensities kept low (at 1×10(14)?W/cm(2) over 5 ns) to avoid sensitivity to modeling uncertainties for nonlocal heat conduction and nonlinear absorption mechanisms, to compare with similar intensity, 3 ns OMEGA sphere results. The 2004 and 2009 NIF half-Hohlraums agreed to 10% in flux, but more importantly, the 2006 OMEGA Au Sphere, the 2009 NIF Au sphere, and the calculated Au conversion efficiency agree to ±5% in flux, which is estimated to be the absolute calibration accuracy of the DANTEs. Hence we conclude that the 30±10% higher than expected radiation fluxes from the 96 and 192 beam vacuum Hohlraums are attributable to differences in physics of the larger Hohlraums.     

X-ray spectrometry and spectrum image mapping at output count rates above 100 kHz with a silicon drift detector on a scanning electron microscope

A third-generation silicon drift detector (SDD) in the form of a silicon multicathode detector (SMCD) was tested as an analytical x-ray spectrometer on a scanning electron microscope. Resolution, output count rate, and spectral quality were examined as a function of the detector peaking time from 8 micros to 250 ns and over a range of input count rate (dead time). The SDD-SMCD (50 mm2 active area) produced a resolution of 134 eV with a peaking time of 8 micros. The peak width and peak channel were nearly independent of the input count rate (at 8 micros peaking time, the peak width degradation was 0.003 eV/percent dead time and peak position change was -0.7 eV over the dead time range tested). Maximum output count rates as high as 280 kHz were obtained with a 500 ns peaking time (188 eV resolution) and 500 kHz with a 250 ns peaking time (217 eV resolution). X-ray spectrum imaging was achieved with a pixel dwell time as short as 10 ms (with 1.3 ms overhead) in which a 2048 channel (10 eV/channel) spectrum with 2-byte intensity range was recorded at each pixel (scanned at 128 x 128). With a 220 kHz output count rate, a minor constituent of iron (present at a concentration of 0.04 mass fraction or 4 weight %) in an aluminum-nickel alloy could be readily detected in the x-ray maps derived from the x-ray spectrum image database accumulated in 185 s.     

Recent advances in scanning x-ray microscopy

A scanning x-ray microscope has been built at the Daresbury synchrotron radiation source and used to obtain images at soft x-ray wavelengths (～2–4 nm). The focusing element of the microscope is a zone plate, fabricated by a contamination writing process developed at King's College. Zone plates with the finest zone widths, and hence theoretical resolutions, below 20 nm have been fabricated in this way. The contamination material is carbon, and as such is unsuitable for high-efficiency focusing. In order to increase the zone plate efficiency, a shadowing pattern transfer process has been developed and used to replicate contamination lines with 25 nm widths into more suitable materials.     

Design and measurement of a Cu L-edge x-ray filter for free electron laser pumped x-ray laser experiments

An inner-shell photoionized x-ray laser pumped by the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) free electron laser has been proposed recently. The measurement of the on-axis 849 eV Ne?Kα laser and protection of the x-ray spectrometer from damage require attenuation of the 1 keV LCLS beam. An Al/Cu foil combination is well suited, serving as a low energy bandpass filter below the Cu L-edge at 933 eV. A high resolution grating spectrometer is used to measure the transmission of a candidate filter with an intense laser-produced x-ray backlighter developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Jupiter Laser Facility Janus. The methodology and discussion of the observed fine structure above the Cu L-edge will be presented.     

Single photon x-ray detection with a CCD image sensor

Individual x rays of 5.9 and 22.4 keV have been detected and energy analyzed in single pixels of a CCD image sensor. The results indicate the CCD operates as an array of tiny Si solid state detectors providing both high spatial resolution and x-ray energy discrimination. These devices will prove useful sensors at the focus of future x-ray telescopes.     

Firmware lower-level discrimination and compression applied to streaming x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy area-detector data

We present a data acquisition system to perform on-the-fly background subtraction and lower-level discrimination compression of streaming x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy data from a fast charge-coupled device (CCD) area detector. The system is built using a commercial frame grabber with an on-board field-programmable gate array. The system is capable of continuously processing at least 60 CCD frames per second each consisting of 1024 × 1024 16-bit pixels with ? 15,000 photon hits per frame at a maximum compression factor of ≈95%.     

Charge-injection-device performance in the high-energy-neutron environment of laser-fusion experiments

Charge-injection devices (CIDs) are being used to image x rays in laser-fusion experiments on the University of Rochester's OMEGA Laser System. The CID cameras are routinely used up to the maximum neutron yields generated (～10(14)?DT). The detectors are deployed in x-ray pinhole cameras and Kirkpatrick-Baez microscopes. The neutron fluences ranged from ～10(7) to ～10(9)?neutrons/cm(2) and useful x-ray images were obtained even at the highest fluences. It is intended to use CID cameras at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) as a supporting means of recording x-ray images. The results of this work predict that x-ray images should be obtainable on the NIF at yields up to ～10(15), depending on distance and shielding.     

Design and performance of a curved-crystal x-ray emission spectrometer

A curved-crystal x-ray emission spectrometer has been designed and built to measure 2-5 keV x-ray fluorescence resulting from a core-level excitation of gas phase species. The spectrometer can rotate 180 degrees, allowing detection of emitted x rays with variable polarization angles, and is capable of collecting spectra over a wide energy range (20 eV wide with 0.5 eV resolution at the Cl K edge) simultaneously. In addition, the entire experimental chamber can be rotated about the incident-radiation axis by nearly 360 degrees while maintaining vacuum, permitting measurements of angular distributions of emitted x rays.     

Design of dynamic Hohlraum opacity samples to increase measured sample density on Z

We are attempting to measure the transmission of iron on Z at plasma temperatures and densities relevant to the solar radiation and convection zone boundary. The opacity data published by us to date has been taken at an electron density about a factor of 10 below the 9×10(22)/cm(3) electron density of this boundary. We present results of two-dimensional (2D) simulations of the heating and expansion of an opacity sample driven by the dynamic Hohlraum radiation source on Z. The aim of the simulations is to design foil samples that provide opacity data at increased density. The inputs or source terms for the simulations are spatially and temporally varying radiation temperatures with a Lambertian angular distribution. These temperature profiles were inferred on Z with on-axis time-resolved pinhole cameras, x-ray diodes, and bolometers. A typical sample is 0.3?μm of magnesium and 0.078?μm of iron sandwiched between 10?μm layers of plastic. The 2D LASNEX simulations indicate that to increase the density of the sample one should increase the thickness of the plastic backing.     

氮气反应溅射制备Co/Sb多层膜研究

针对"水窗"波段(280~540eV)对多层膜反射镜的应用需求,在Sb的M5吸收边(525.5eV)附近,选择Co和Sb作为该能点的多层膜材料组合,优化设计膜系结构。采用直流磁控溅射方法制备了Co/Sb多层膜,通过在溅射气体氩气中引入氮气作为反应气体,多层膜界面粗糙度明显减小。利用X射线掠入射反射(GIXRR)测试多层膜结构,并在北京BSRF同步辐射3W1B实验站测量了反应溅射前后的多层膜反射率(SXR),结果表明:氮气含量为25%时的界面粗糙度最小,反射率从无反应溅射的7.2%提高到11.7%。     

Five-element Johann-type x-ray emission spectrometer with a single-photon-counting pixel detector

A Johann-type spectrometer with five spherically bent crystals and a pixel detector was constructed for a range of hard x-ray photon-in photon-out synchrotron techniques, covering a Bragg-angle range of 60°-88°. The spectrometer provides a sub emission line width energy resolution from sub-eV to a few eV and precise energy calibration, better than 1.5 eV for the full range of Bragg angles. The use of a pixel detector allows fast and easy optimization of the signal-to-background ratio. A concentration detection limit below 0.4 wt% was reached at the Cu Kα(1) line. The spectrometer is designed as a modular mobile device for easy integration in a multi-purpose hard x-ray synchrotron beamline, such as the SuperXAS beamline at the Swiss Light Source.