Quick Shot

The neutron temporal diagnostic (NTD) measures the temporal history of neutron production in inertial confinement fusion implosions, and it was recently upgraded to improve reliability and functionality. The temporal history measurement is used to infer important performance parameters from cryogenic deuterium–tritium implosions at LLE (e.g., bang time, burn rate, and peak pressure in the fuel). The new hardware improves the impulse response of the instrument, which will reduce the uncertainty in these performance parameters. The image shows part of the new NTD assembly being lowered into the target chamber during installation at the end of June 2013.