Measurements of laser-imprinted perturbations and Rayleigh--Taylor growth with the Nike KrF laser

Nike is a 56 beam Krypton Fluoride (KrF) laser system using Induced Spatial Incoherence (ISI) beam smoothing with a measured focal nonuniformity left-angle ΔI/I right-angle of 1% rms in a single beam [S. Obenschain et al., Phys. Plasmas 3, 1996 (2098)]. When 37 of these beams are overlapped on the target, we estimate that the beam nonuniformity is reduced by √(37), to (ΔI/I)congruent 0.15% (excluding short-wavelength beam-to-beam interference). The extraordinary uniformity of the laser drive, along with a newly developed x-ray framing diagnostic, has provided a unique facility for the accurate measurements of Rayleigh--Taylor amplified laser-imprinted mass perturbations under conditions relevant to direct-drive laser fusion. Data from targets with smooth surfaces as well as those with impressed sine wave perturbations agree with our two-dimensional (2-D) radiation hydrodynamics code that includes the time-dependent ISI beam modulations. A 2-D simulation of a target with a 100 Angstrom rms randomly rough surface finish driven by a completely uniform beam gives final perturbation amplitudes similar to the experimental data for the smoothest laser profile. These results are promising for direct-drive laser fusion