1998

High-Density X-Ray Diagnostics
New high-density x-ray diagnostics were implemented, giving the ability to measure cold, compressed shells without backlighting.

NIF Optics
LLE’s Optical Manufacturing Group (OMAN) developed and implemented an optical-coating process for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) optics. As a result, LLE began its support of coating NIF optics.

High-Density Charged-Particle Diagnostics
In collaboration with MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC), LLE began the development of a charged-particle spectrometer to measure charged particles from high-density implosions on OMEGA.

A paper authored by V. A. Smalyuk et al. was published in Physical Review Letters. It showed for the first time that 3D broadband imprinted features exhibit saturated growth at amplitudes consistent with theoretical models.

V. A. Smalyuk, T. R. Boehly, D. K. Bradley, V. N. Goncharov, J. A. Delettrez, J. P. Knauer, D. D. Meyerhofer, D. Oron, and D. Shvarts, “Saturation of the Rayleigh–Taylor Growth of
Broad-Bandwidth Laser-Imposed Nonuniformities in Planar Targets,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 81 (24), 5342–5345 (1998).