2013 LLNL Nuclear Forensics Summer Program

Authors

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsCharles W. BagnalCharles W. Bagnal Jr. (BS, nuclear engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1980) is a consulting engineer at GRP Consulting, Inc., currently engaged in reactor physics methods development and nuclear engineering support services. He has been involved in nuclear reactor design analysis and software development for six years. His experience includes advanced light water reactor (LWR) and heavy water reactor designs, including extended burnup fuel cycles using gadolinia burnable poison.Gerard P. CavanaughGerard P. Cavanaugh (BS, physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1969; MS, 1970, and PhD, 1976, nuclear engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) worked from 1973 to 1975 in the Neutronics Physics Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He is currently supervisor of radiation physics and criticality analysis at Combustion Engineering, Inc. (C-E). His primary technical interests are in the areas of radiation transport, stochastic sampling methodologies, and computer applications ranging from mainframes to personal computers.Robert P. HarrisRobert P. Harris (BS, 1974, and MS, 1975, nuclear engineering, and MS, 1984, metallurgy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) has worked in the core design, safety analysis, and licensing of C-E pressurized water reactors since 1973. He is currently involved in the neutronic design of advanced burnable poisons and fuel assemblies. He consults in the areas of core fuel management, safety analysis, and startup physics testing.Regis A. MatzieRegis A. Matzie (BS, physics, U.S. Naval Academy, 1965; MS, 1971, and PhD, 1976, nuclear engineering, Stanford University) is currently the manager of analog plants in the nuclear engineering department at C-E. His current technical interests include advanced LWR designs, methods of improving fuel utilization and fuel cycle costs in current design LWRs, and alternate fuel cycles for advanced converter reactors.Laszlo B. TarkoLaszlo B. Tarko (BS, physics, University of Connecticut, 1980) is currently the lead engineer in the radiation physics group at C-E. His current technical interests include radiation transport, ex-core radiation physics, dose rates, energy deposition, and associated computer techniques.Howard OckenHoward Ocken (D. Eng., metallurgy, Yale University, 1966) is a project manager in the Nuclear Power Division of the Electric Power Research Institute. He has managed projects that addressed materials performance in nuclear core components. His current interests include materials aspects associated with reducing radiation fields, especially replacing cobalt sources and decontamination and preconditioning technology.Per Hedemann JensenPer Hedemann Jensen (BSc, electronic engineering, Technical University, Aarhus, Denmark, 1970) is a senior health physicist at Ris0 National Laboratory, where he is head of the Section for Applied Health Physics. He has been involved in studies of radiological consequences from hypothetical core-melt accidents at nuclear power plants. His current technical interest is experimental work on internal dosimetry problems.Ian J. HastingsIan J. Hastings (PhD, metallurgical science, University of Queensland, 1968) is head of the Fuel Properties and Behaviour Group in the Fuel Materials Branch at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories (CRNL) of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. His current interests are in oxide fuel behavior under irradiation, particularly release of short-lived fission products under normal and accident conditions, and in fusion ceramics.Elio MizzanElio Mizzan (BA Sc, chemical engineering, University of Toronto, 1949) is a supervisor at the Fuel Materials Branch Hot Cell Facility at CRNL. His interests have been in the areas of postirradiation examination of reactor fuels and materials, particularly postdefect handling of spent U02 fuel.Alan M. RossAlan M. Ross (BSc, general, University of London, 1953) is a supervisor at the Recycle Fuel Fabrication Laboratories of the Fuel Materials Branch of CRNL. His interests include the fabrication, nondestructive assay, properties, irradiation behavior, and neutron radiography of current and advanced thermal reactor fuels.John R. KelmJohn R. Kelm is a research technician in the Fuel Materials Branch at CRNL. His research responsibility is the operation of a special project hot cell. His current interest is U02 oxidation and stress corrosion cracking.Real J. ChenierReal J. Chenier is a research technician in the Fuel Materials Branch at CRNL. His current research responsibility is operation of the postirradiation metallographic facilities.D. H. RoseD. H. Rose is a research technologist in the Fuel Properties and Behaviour Group of the Fuel Materials Branch at CRNL. His current responsibility is fabrication and operation of instrumented in-reactor experiments.J. NovakJ. Novak (BASc, engineering science, University of Toronto, 1974) is employed in Central Nuclear Services, Nuclear Generation Division of Ontario Hydro. Since 1976 he has been engaged in the areas of nuclear fuel production and development. His current technical interests include behavior of irradiated fuel in air, U02 powder characteristics, and fuel performance improvement.Claudio RonchiClaudio Ronchi (Dr. rer. nat. phys., State University, Milan, Italy, 1965) is a research officer at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the Commission of European Communities. After having worked in the research and development of advanced fuels for fast breeders, he is now engaged in reactor safety studies.Jacques van de LaarJacques van de Laar (Ingenieur Fysische Techniek, H.T.S., Heerlen, The Netherlands, 1974) works in thec mathematical modeling department of JRC-Karlsruhe. He is currently involved in the development and execution of computer programs for reactor fuel performance and safety analysis.Hubert BlankHubert Blank (PhD, metal physics, Technical University of Stuttgart, 1957), head of the Physics Division of the European Institute for Transuranium Elements, Karlsruhe, has directed the “Swelling of Advanced Fuels” project at this institute since 1973.Tetsuo FukasawaTetsuo Fukasawa (BS, 1976; MS, 1978; and Dr. Eng., 1981, nuclear engineering, Tohoku University) is a researcher in the Energy Research Laboratory (ERL), Hitachi, Ltd. He has specialized in the radiochemistry of actinide elements and is currently working in the field of low-level radioactive waste treatment and spent fuel reprocessing.Koichi ChinoKoichi Chino (BS, 1972, and MS, 1974, mechanical engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology) is a researcher at ERL. His primary areas of interest are transport phenomena and radioactive waste management.Osamu KuriyamaOsamu Kuriyama (BS, 1973, and MS, 1975, Tohoku University) is a researcher at ERL. His current interests include the radioactive waste management and chemistry of nuclear waste.Fumio KawamuraFumio Kawamura (BS, chemical engineering, Gunma University,1970; MS, 1972, and Dr. Eng., 1976, Tohoku University) is a researcher at ERL where he is involved in radioactive waste management and reactor water chemistry.Hideo YusaHideo Yusa (BS, physics, Tohoku University, 1959; Dr. Eng., Osaka University, 1969) is a chief researcher at ERL. He is responsible for the research and development of radioactive waste management systems.Bernard L. CohenBernard L. Cohen (BS, Case Institute of Technology, 1944; MS, University of Pittsburgh, 1948; DSc, Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1950) did basic research on nuclear structure using accelerators at Oak Ridge National Laboratory from 1950 to 1958 and at the University of Pittsburgh until the mid-1970s. He then turned his research efforts to the environmental impacts of energy generation, including studies of radioactive waste, health effects of radiation, risk and risk aversion, radon problems, and reactor safety. He is a professor of physics at the University of Pittsburgh and a former director (1965 to 1978) of its Scaife Nuclear Laboratories.K. TasakaK. Tasaka (PhD, nuclear engineering, University of Tokyo, 1976) first worked in breeder reactor safety and fission product characteristics research for ten years and in light water reactor (LWR) safety research for nine years at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). He is the project leader of the Rig of Safety Assessment (ROSA) program, and his current interests include analysis of thermal-hydraulic behavior during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) and an anticipated transient without scram in LWRs.M. SuzukiM. Suzuki (MS, mechanical engineering, Kyoto University, 1971) has worked for the ROSA program since 1974. His current interests include safety evaluation of an LWR.Y. AnodaY. Anoda (PhD, mechanical engineering, University of Tokyo, 1979) is a research engineer for the ROSA program. His current interests include two-phase flow during a LOCA.Y. KoizumiY. Koizumi (PhD, mechanical engineering, University of Tokyo, 1977) is a research engineer for the ROSA program. His current interests include analysis of thermal-hydraulic behavior during a LOCA with emphasis on two-phase flow characteristics and heat transfer.T. YonomotoT. Yonomoto (MS, nuclear engineering, University of Osaka, 1982) is a research engineer for the ROSA program. His current interests include analysis of thermal-hydraulic behavior during a LOCA.H. KumamaruH. Kumamaru (PhD, nuclear engineering, University of Tokyo, 1980) is a research engineer for the ROSA program. His current interests include core heat transfer under LOCA conditions.H. NakamuraH. Nakamura (MS, crystalline material engineering, Nagoya University, 1981) is a research engineer for the ROSA program. His current interests include analysis of thermal-hydraulic behavior during a LOCA.M. ShibaM. Shiba (MS, mechanical engineering, Waseda University, 1959) is the general manager of Reactor Safety Laboratory 1 at JAERI. He has worked for 22 years at JAERI in the field of reactor engineering and safety and is currently responsible for simulated LOCA experiments.Genichi MatsumotoGenichi Matsumoto (BS, physics, Tokyo University, 1946) has been an associate professor of nuclear engineering at Nagoya University from 1963 to the present, where he is responsible for research and education in nuclear reactor engineering. He worked as a member of the Scientific Research Institute of Tokyo following his graduation from Tokyo University, and from 1950 to 1963, he served on the technical staff of the Research Reactor Operation Division of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. His current research field includes nuclear safety, neutron radiography (especially neutron television technology), and heat pipe technology.Soichi DoiSoichi Doi (BS, 1976, and MS, 1978, nuclear engineering, Nagoya University) has been employed by the Mitsubishi Atomic Power Industry Co. since 1978, where he is responsible for the nuclear fuel engineering of light water reactors.Kohei OhkuboKohei Ohkubo (BS, mechanical engineering, Aichi Institute of Technology, 1975) is a staff member of Nagoya University.Yasushi IkedaYasushi Ikeda (BS, physics, 1963, and PhD, nuclear engineering, 1982, Nagoya University) has been an assistant staff member of Nagoya University from 1964 to the present. He has investigated thermodynamics of nuclear materials using mass spectrometric technology; neutron radiography technology is also included in his research interests.Günther HesselGünther Hessel [BS, physics, Technical University Dresden, German Democratic Republic (GDR), 1970] is a research scientist at the Central Institute of Nuclear Research (CIN), Rossendorf. He is involved in experimental investigations and developments for technical diagnosis, especially at nuclear power plants.Hans-Erich KöppenHans-Erich Köppen (BS, computer science, Technical University Dresden, 1973) is a research scientist at the CIN. His area of expertise is microprocessor hard- and software and the construction of autonomously working monitors.Peter LiewersPeter Liewers (BS, physics, University of Halle, GDR, 1957; PhD, physics, University of Leipzig, GDR, 1962) is the scientific leader of the group for reactor diagnostics at the CIN. His interests and activities have shifted from reactor physics to technical diagnostics.Peter SchumannPeter Schumann (BS, nuclear engineering, Technical University Dresden, 1963; PhD, physics, Bergakademie Freiberg, GDR, 1970) is a staff scientist at the CIN where he is concerned with digital signal processing and computer software. Formerly he worked in the field of in-core measuring techniques and neutron spectrometryFrank-Peter WeiβFrank-Peter Weiβ (BS, physics, Technical University Dresden, 1973) is a research scientist in the group for technical diagnostics at the CIN. His current interest is the application of statistical pattern recognition to technical diagnostics.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a leading research laboratory in material properties. The most notable facility at LLNL capable of determining equation of state data for hazardous materials is the National Ignition Facility (NIF). NIF is the most energetic laser in the world and is a very versatile system that allows for a variety of laser configurations and diagnostics. The flexibility that NIF offers makes it an attractive tool for high budget programs researching specific areas of interest. Some programs require many tests to be performed, and although NIF could be an option for performing these tests, the cost and time to perform the tests would not be feasible. Also, many of these tests would underutilize the full capacity of NIF’s lasers, and NIF does not have a dedicated light source suitable for the diagnostic requirement. The needs of these tests do not align with NIF’s capabilities. The physicists are the main stakeholders for the tests, and they require a third-generation light source to meet the desired diagnostic performance. The Dynamic Compression Sector (DCS) within the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) is the facility that will meet necessary laser performance and the X-ray diagnostic performance in order to obtain the desired data. DCS does not have the capability to test hazardous material, and therefore DCS requires a method and hardware for ensuring that no hazardous material is exposed before, during, or after the test. After taking a system engineering evaluation of the need for a solution to perform laser shock experiments on hazardous materials with certain laser and X-ray characteristics, a solution is proposed that meets the requirements of each involved stakeholder. The proposed solution is to contain the targets within sealed vacuum chamber that will meet the protection requirements of each facility. The chamber would be assembled and pumped down at LLNL in facilities that can handle hazardous material. Then, the chamber would be shipped under vacuum to DCS, where the chamber will be inserted into the beam paths. DCS’s laser will enter the sealed chamber and impart a shock into the target of hazardous material while the X-ray will simultaneously image the material. Once each target has been fired, the chamber will be removed from the beam path and shipped to the proper disposal facility.

Authors

Approximately 4000 capacitors, each storing 83.5 kJ of energy, will be required for the United States Department of Energy National Ignition Facility (NIF), being built at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). To achieve the required system reliability lifetime, and cost goals, the capacitors were specified to be of the self-healing, metallized electrode type of construction. Maxwell Energy Products has previously delivered a number of banks of self-healing capacitors, including the 52 MJ bank at the US Army ARDEC facility at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ. Development of capacitors specifically for NIF began several years ago and continues today at Maxwell, with the primary goal of reducing the manufacturing cost. In support of this effort, LLNL has procured prototypes and life tested a number of our designs over the past three years. This paper reviews the development of NIF capacitors at Maxwell, focussing on the lifetime performance of different designs during the development. This work has resulted in Maxwell Type CM capacitor designs, whose demonstrated lifetime capability has far exceeded the 20000 shot NIF requirement, having energy densities as high as 0.84 J/cc.

On behalf of all at High Power Laser Science and Engineering we would like to congratulate the team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) on demonstrating fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility. This major scientific achievement was realized on the 5 December 2022 at the LLNL and announced at a press briefing on the 13 December 2022 by the United States Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. This was a historic milestone and the culmination of decades of effort.

Fiscal year 1996 has been a year of significant change for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in general and for Engineering in particular. Among these changes, the Laboratory`s national security mission was better defined, the stockpile stewardship program objectives became crisper, LLNL`s investment in high-performance computing was re-emphasized with the procurement of a $100 million supercomputer for the Laboratory`s Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) program, two major Laser programs (the National Ignition Facility and Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation) expanded significantly, and DOE`s human genome efforts moved to the next phase of development. In the area of business operations, LLNL`s Cost Cutting Initiative Program (CCIP) was completed and the Laboratory restructured its workforce using a Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP). Engineering similarly also saw many technical and programmatic successes, as well as changes, starting with completion of its strategic plan, significant consolidation of its facilities, restructuring of its workforce, reduction of its overhead costs, substantial transfers of staff between programs, and finally my personal arrival at Livermore. This report is the first opportunity to capture some of Engineering`s FY96 activities and accomplishments in a succinct fashion, and to relate these to our strategic plan.

This report presents the results from fiscal year (FY) 1999 technical studies conducted by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as part of the Hydrology and Radionuclide Migration Program (HRMP) and Underground Test Area (UGTA) work-for-others project. This report is the latest in a series of annual reports published by LLNL to document the migration of radionuclides and controls of radionuclide movement at the Nevada Test Site. The FY 1999 studies highlighted in this report are: (1) Chapter 1 provides the results from flow-through leaching of nuclear melt glasses at 25 C and near-neutral pH using dilute bicarbonate groundwaters. (2) Chapter 2 reports on a summary of the size and concentration of colloidal material in NTS groundwaters. (3) Chapter 3 discusses the collaboration between LLNL/ANCD (Analytical and Nuclear Chemistry Division) and the Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (CAMS) to develop a technique for analyzing NTS groundwater for 99-Technicium ({sup 99}Tc) using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Since {sup 99}Tc is conservative like tritium in groundwater systems, and is not sorbed to geologic material, it has the potential for being an important tool for radionuclide migration studies. (4) Chapter 4 presents the results of secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements of the in-situ distribution of radionuclides in zeolitized tuffs from cores taken adjacent to nuclear test cavities and chimneys. In-situ measurements provide insight to the distribution of specific radionuclides on a micro-scale, mineralogical controls of radionuclide sorption, and identification of migration pathways (i.e., matrix diffusion, fractures). (5) Chapter 5 outlines new analytical techniques developed in LLNL/ANCD to study hydrologic problems at the NTS using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). With costs for thermal-ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) increasing relative to sample preparation time and facility support, ICP-MS technology provides a means for rapidly measuring dilute concentrations of radionuclides with precision and abundance sensitivity comparable to TIMS. (6) Chapter 6 provides results of a characterization study of alluvium collected from the U-1a complex approximately 300 meters below ground surface in Yucca Flat. The purpose of this investigation was to provide information on particle size, mineralogical context, the proportion of primary and secondary minerals, and the texture of the reactive surface area that could be used to accurately model radionuclide interactions within Nevada Test Site alluvial basins (i.e., Frenchman Flat and Yucca Flat).

The National Ignition Facility (NIF), currently under construction at the University of California s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a stadium-sized facility containing a 192-beam, 1.8 Megajoule, 500-Terrawatt, 351-nm laser system together with a 10-meter diameter target chamber with room for nearly 100 experimental diagnostics. NIF is being built by the National Nuclear Security Administration and when completed will be the world s largest laser experimental system, providing a national center to study inertial confinement fusion and the physics of matter at extreme energy densities and pressures. NIF s 192 energetic laser beams will compress fusion targets to conditions where they will ignite and burn, liberating more energy than required to initiate the fusion reaction. The first four beamlines (a quad) are currently being commissioned, with increasingly energetic laser pulses being propagated throughout the laser system. Success on many of the NIF laser s missions depends on obtaining precisely specified energy waveforms from each of the 192 beams over a wide variety of pulse lengths and temporal shapes. A computational system, the Laser Performance Operations Model (LPOM) has been developed and deployed during NIF commissioning to automate the laser setup process, and accurately predict laser energtics. For each shot on NIF, the LPOM determines the characteristics of the injection laser system required to achieve the desired main laser output, provides parameter checking for equipment protection, determines the required diagnostic setup, and supplies post-shot data analysis and reporting.

For decades, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has been engaged in significant research, development, and support for software to enable scientific computing and, particularly, the use of high performance computing (HPC) in the NNSA mission space. In particular, the move in the mid-1990’s to simulation as a leading component of stockpile stewardship through the ASCI and the successor ASC programs, as well as the need for reliable data acquisition and control software for the National Ignition Facility, have been important drivers in building expertise in production-quality software development at LLNL. LLNL has also been a leader in the DOE SciDAC FASTMath Institute and the DOE Exascale Computing Project (ECP), both of which have striven to make scientific computing software – in particular, the enabling technologies underpinning simulation capabilities – more widely adopted and sustainable. As such, we believe that our experience can inform the broader goal of software stewardship for scientific and high-performance computing. LLNL strongly supports the formation of a new DOE ASCR program element in software stewardship and sustainment. Historically, DOE ASCR has funded applied mathematics and computer science research that has led to the development of important new capabilities and algorithms that are expressed as artifacts in research software. Such frameworks, libraries, and tools have seldom been directly funded to address the important issues of code maintenance, documentation, robustness, and community building. Software engineering and support have typically been done on the side in support of the ASCR-driven research products. DOE funding priorities have been slow to recognize that good software engineering, the kind that ensures research investments have more adoption and longevity, requires significant resources. Based upon our experiences, we have prepared this response to highlight the concerns and issues we believe to be important as DOE ASCR considers its role in scientific software stewardship. We believe that role is important and will require a significant investment of new funding to legitimately support the technologies past and future DOE ASCR investments have and will produce to facilitate their uptake and adoption in the broader scientific computing community. Following a summary of our involvement in scientific software development, the remainder our response is organized around the nine topics specifically identified in the RFI.

This document is the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF) Pollution Prevention and Waste Minimization Plan. It will not only function as the planning document for anticipating, minimizing, and mitigating NIF waste generation, but it is also a Department of Energy (DOE) milestone document specified in the facility's Mitigation Action Plan (MAP). As such, it is one of the ''living'' reference documents that will guide NIF operations through all phases of the project. This document will be updated periodically to reflect development of the NIF, from construction through lifetime operations.

The Project provides for the design, procurement, construction, assembly, installation, and acceptance testing of the National Ignition Facility (NIF), an experimental inertial confinement fusion facility intended to achieve controlled thermonuclear fusion in the laboratory by imploding a small capsule containing a mixture of the hydrogen isotopes, deuterium and tritium. The NIF will be constructed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, California as determined by the Record of Decision made on December 19, 1996, as a part of the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (SSM PEIS). Safety: On Saturday April 29, 2000, while preparing the Ringer crane for operation at the NIF site, a mechanical malfunction was observed by the operator. He stopped work and consulted with line management. They agreed with the operator's assessment, and with the Livermore Emergency Duty Officer, implemented a precautionary evacuation of the area around the crane. DOE was notified of the situation. The crane was then placed in a safe condition. A crane maintenance vendor is inspecting the crane and a management team headed by the Beampath Infrastructure System Associate Project Manager is reviewing the documentation, crane history, and repairs to ensure that the crane is fully safe before reuse. Technical Status: The general status of the technologies underlying the NIF Project remains satisfactory. The issues currently being addressed are (1) cleanliness for installation, assembly, and activation of the laser system by Systems Engineering working groups; (2) laser glass, where a second pilot run at both commercial suppliers is expected to confirm the mitigation steps identified in the first pilot run; and (3) operational costs associated with Final Optics Assembly (FOA) optics components, where methods are being developed to mitigate 3 {omega} damage and to resolve beam rotation issues. Schedule: The project completion schedule remains a major concern for the quarter. Completion of the Beampath Infrastructure System (BIS) design and award of the contract for the Integration Management and Installation (IMI) Contractor are on the critical path schedule. The procurement package has been reviewed with DOE Procurement and NNSA Project organizations. DOE HQ approved moving forward with the request for proposal (RFP) for the IMI on April 24, and LLNL procurement has requested the proposal for the BIS IMI Services contract. The construction status of the Conventional Facilities at the end of March 2000 is 87% complete. Cost: The NIF Project Total Project Cost (TPC) is $1.2B. The Project has obligated 78% of the TPC funds. The remaining contingency is $16.7M. Because of schedule delays and projected increases in the design, construction management, assembly, and installation of the system infrastructure, cost growth of the TPC is anticipated and will remain a major concern until the budget rebaseline process is completed. The cost estimates and schedules were reviewed with the Level 1 and 2 Baseline Change Control Boards (BCCB) in preparation for the Energy Systems Acquisition Advisory Board Meetings scheduled in early May.

The Static X-Ray Imager (SXI) is a National Ignition Facility (NIF) diagnostic that uses a CCDcamera to record timeintegrated X-ray images of target features such as the laser entrance hole of hohlraums. SXI has two dedicated positioners on the NIF target chamber for viewing thetarget from above and below, and the X-ray energies of interest are 870 eV for the “soft” channel and 3 – 5 keV for the “hard” channels. The original cameras utilize a large formatbackilluminated 2048 x 2048 CCD sensor with 24 micron pixels. Since the original sensor isno longer available, an effort was recently undertaken to build replacement cameras withsuitable new sensors. Three of the new cameras use a commercially available front-illuminatedCCD of similar size to the original, which has adequate sensitivity for the hard X-ray channelsbut not for the soft. For sensitivity below 1 keV, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) had additional CCDs back-thinned andconverted to back-illumination for use in the other two new cameras. In this paper we describethe characteristics of the new cameras and present performance data (quantum efficiency, flat field, and dynamic range) for the front- and back-illuminated cameras, with comparisons to the originalcameras.

The Saturn pulsed power accelerator [R. B. Spielman et al., in Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Dense Z-pinches, Laguna Beach, CA, 1989, edited by N. R. Pereira, J. Davis, and N. Rostoker (American Institute of Physics, New York, 1989), p. 3] at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and the Nova laser [J. T. Hunt and D. R. Speck, Opt. Eng. 28, 461 (1989)] at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have been used to explore techniques for studying the behavior of ablator material in x-ray radiation environments comparable in magnitude, spectrum, and duration to those that would be experienced in National Ignition Facility (NIF) hohlraums [J. D. Lindl, Phys. Plasmas 2, 3933 (1995)]. The large x-ray outputs available from the Saturn pulsed-power-driven z pinch have enabled us to drive hohlraums of full NIF ignition scale size at radiation temperatures and time scales comparable to those required for the low-power foot pulse of an ignition capsule. The high-intensity drives available in the Nova laser have allowed us to study capsule ablator physics in smaller-scale hohlraums at radiation temperatures and time scales relevant to the peak power pulse for an ignition capsule. Taken together, these experiments have pointed the way to possible techniques for testing radiation-hydrodynamics code predictions of radiation flow, opacity, equation of state, and ablator shock velocity over the range of radiation environments that will be encountered in a NIF hohlraum.

The object of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is to compress a fuel capsule to a state with high enough density and temperature to ignite, starting a self-sustaining fusion burn that consumes much of the fuel and releases a large amount of energy. The national ICF research program is trying to reach this goal, especially through experiments at the OMEGA laser facility of the University of Rochester Laboratory of Laser Energetics (LLE), planned experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) under construction at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and experimental and theoretical work at other national laboratories. The work by MIT reported here has played several important roles in this national program. First, the development of new and improved charged-particle-based plasma diagnostics has allowed the gathering of new and unique diagnostic information about the implosions of fuel capsules in ICF experiments, providing new means for evaluating experiments and for studying capsule implosion dynamics. Proton spectrometers have become the standard for evaluating the mass assembly in compressed capsules in experiments at OMEGA; the measured energy downshift of either primary or secondary D3He fusion protons to determines the areal density, or ?R, of imploded capsules. The Proton Temporal Diagnostic measures the time history of fusion burn, and multiple proton emission imaging cameras reveal the 3-D spatial distribution of fusion burn. A new compact neutron spectrometer, for measuring fusion yield, is described here for the first time. And of especially high importance to future work is the Magnetic Recoil Spectrometer (MRS), which is a neutron spectrometer that will be used to study a range of important performance parameters in future experiments at the NIF. A prototype is currently being prepared for testing at OMEGA, using a magnet funded by this grant. Second, MIT has used these diagnostic instruments to perform its own physics experiments and analysis with implosions at OMEGA, to provide essential data to other experimenters at LLE, and to work collaboratively with researchers from all the national laboratories (including LLNL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratory). Some of the implosion dynamics physics studies reported here involve the relationships between drive asymmetries and implosion asymmetries (in terms of both mass assembly and fusion burn); the time evolution of mass assembly and mass asymmetries; the behavior of shock coalescence; and the nature of fuel-shell mix. Third, the MIT program has provided unique educational and research opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students. The graduate students are deeply engaged in every aspect of our research program, and spend considerable time at OMEGA working on experiments and working with our collaborators from OMEGA and from the National Labs. Many undergraduates have gotten a taste of ICF research, sometimes making significant contributions. We believe that the introduction of energetic and gifted students to the challenging problems of this field and the excitement of the national lab environment leads naturally to the infusion of bright, talented young scientists into our field, and several PhD recipients from this group have become important forces in the field. Finally, this work has provided the foundation for continuing advances during upcoming research, with other experimental and theoretical studies of implosion dynamics. In addition to the continuing application of diagnostic instrumentation used during this grant, important contributions will be made with new diagnostics such as the MRS and with new techniques based on the knowledge obtained here, such as proton radiography.