Deposition of maximum laser energy into a small, high-Z enclosure in a short laser pulse creates a hot environment. Such targets were recently included in an experimental campaign using the first four of the 192 beams of the National Ignition Facility [J.A. Paisner, E.M. Campbell, and W.J. Hogan, Fusion Technology 26, 755 (1994)], under construction at the University of California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. These targets demonstrate good laser coupling, reaching a radiation temperature of 340 eV. In addition, the Raman backscatter spectrum contains features consistent with Brillouin backscatter of Raman forward scatter [A.B. Langdon and D.E. Hinkel, Physical Review Letters 89, 015003 (2002)]. Also, NIF Early Light diagnostics indicate that 20% of the direct backscatter from these reduced-scale targets is in the polarization orthogonal to that of the incident light.

A platform for analysis of material properties under extreme conditions, where a sample is bathed in radiation with a high temperature, is under development. This hot environment is produced with a laser by depositing maximum energy into a small, high-Z can. Such targets were recently included in an experimental campaign using the first four of the 192 beams of the National Ignition Facility, under construction at the University of California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. These targets demonstrate good laser coupling, reaching a radiation temperature of 340 eV. In addition, there is a unique wavelength dependence of the Raman backscattered light that is consistent with Brillouin backscatter of Raman forward scatter [A.B. Langdon and D.E. Hinkel, Physical Review Letters 89, 015003 (2002)]. Finally, novel diagnostic capabilities indicate that 20% of the direct backscatter from these reduced-scale targets is in the polarization orthogonal to that of the incident light.

The soft x-ray imager (SXRI) built for the first experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) has four soft x-ray channels and one hard x-ray channel. The SXRI is a snout that mounts to a four strip gated imager. This produces four soft x-ray images per strip, which can be separated in time by {approx}60psec. Each soft x-ray channel consists of a mirror plus a filter. The diagnostic was used to study x-ray burnthrough of hot hohlraum targets at the NIF and OMEGA lasers. The SXRI snout design and issues involved in selecting the desired soft x-ray channels are discussed.

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) requires diagnostics to analyze high-energy density physics experiments. A VISAR (Velocity Interferometry System for Any Reflector) diagnostic has been designed to measure shock velocities, shock breakout times, and shock emission of targets with sizes from 1 to 5 mm. An 8-inch-diameter fused silica triplet lens collects light at f/3 inside the 30-foot-diameter vacuum chamber. The optical relay sends the image out an equatorial port, through a 2-inch-thick vacuum window, and into two interferometers. A 60-kW VISAR probe laser operates at 659.5 nm with variable pulse width. Special coatings on the mirrors and cutoff filters are used to reject the NIF drive laser wavelengths and to pass a band of wavelengths for VISAR, passive shock breakout light, or thermal imaging light (bypassing the interferometers). The first triplet can be no closer than 500 mm from the target chamber center and is protected from debris by a blast window that is replaced after every event. The front end of the optical relay can be temporarily removed from the equatorial port, allowing other experimenters to use that port. A unique resolution pattern has been designed to validate the VISAR diagnostic before each use. All optical lenses are on kinematic mounts so that the pointing accuracy of the optical axis can be checked. Seven CCD cameras monitor the diagnostic alignment.

Time resolved hard x-ray images (hv> 9 keV) and time integrated hard x-ray spectra (hv = 18-150 keV) from vacuum hohlraums irradiated with four 351 nm wavelength NIF laser beams are presented as a function of hohlraum size and laser power and duration. The hard x-ray images and spectra provide insight into the time evolution of the hohlraum plasma filling and the production of hot electrons. The fraction of laser energy detected as hot electrons (f{sub hot}) and a comparison to a filling model are presented.

An early Filter-Fluorescer Diagnostic System (FFLEX) is being fielded at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to measure the amount of hard x-rays (20