Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have collaborated with Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
(PPPL) to design a novel X-ray crystal spectrometer to provide high-resolution measurements of a challenging feature of high energy density (HED) matter produced by National Ignition Facility (NIF) experiments.
The work is featured in a paper in the Review of Scientific Instruments
that describes the new crystal shape being fabricated for NIF, the world’s most energetic laser.
Laser-produced high energy density plasmas, similar to those found in stars, nuclear explosions and the core of giant planets, may be the most extreme state of matter created on Earth.
PPPL previously built a spectrometer for NIF that was quite successful. The spectrometer, delivered in 2017, provides high-resolution measurements of the temperature and density of NIF extreme plasmas for inertial confinement fusion experiments, and the data obtained was presented in invited talks and peer-reviewed publications.