Abstract

Accelerators such as the Z-Machine at Sandia National Laboratories have historically lacked the radiography diagnostics available at laser-based high energy density physics (HEDP) facilities. In such diagnostics, a laser synchronized to the HEDP event impinges upon a foil target to create an x-ray point-source, which in turn illuminates the high density target (or “backlights” it) such that a radiograph can be recorded much like a dental x-ray. Radiographic backlighting in this fashion has been widely used in inertial confinement fusion (1CF) laboratories such as the NOVA laser facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LLNL). Based on this experience, a backlighting laser system for the Z-Machine^1,2 has been constructed using the former Beamlet laser^3,4 from LLNL.

© 2002 Optical Society of America