The LIL facility: An experimental tool for laser-matter interaction

The laser Megajoule (LMJ) under construction at CESTA, a Cea laboratory located near Bordeaux, is designed to produce 240 beams, 1.8 MJ, 500 TW of ultraviolet light for high energy density physics experiments and thermonuclear burn of DT targets. The first step of LMJ program consisted in the construction of a full scale prototype the 'Laser integration line' (LIL) which was developed to demonstrate LMJ performances and qualify all its components and systems as well as maintenance procedures. Commissioned in 2002, LIL facility mainly includes a laser bay which houses a bundle of 8 beamlines similar to the LMJ ones and a target bay where are located the 1ω-2ω conversion system, the focusing gratings and the 4.4 meter diameter target chamber equipped with plasma diagnostics. The LIL facility can be divided roughly into 4 major sub-systems: -) the optical pulse generation and injection system, -) the main amplifier system, -) the transport section, frequency conversion and focalization, and -) the target area and plasma diagnostics