Spectroscopic Measurements of Target Preheating on OMEGA

The preheating of laser-heated microballoon targets has been measured by time-resolved x-ray and extreme ultraviolet (euv) spectroscopy on the 30 kJ, 351 nm, 60-beam laser-fusion system at the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics. Thin coatings of aluminum overcoated with magnesium served as indicators. both the sequence of the x-ray line emission and the intensity of euv radiation were used to determine a preheating peaking at ∼ 10 ns prior to onset of the main laser pulse, with a power density ≅1% of the main pulse. The measurements are supported by numerical modeling. Further information is provided by absorption spectra from the aluminum coating, backlighted by continuum from the heated surface. The exact source of the preheating energy remains unknown at present, but most likely arrives from early laser leakage through the system. The present target diagnostic is particularly useful when all beams cannot be monitored directly at all laser wavelengths