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Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Laser-heating and Radiance Spectrometry for the Study of Nuclear Materials in Conditions Simulating a Nuclear Power Plant Accident
Published on: December 14, 2017
Note: A monoenergetic proton backlighter for the National Ignition Facility
J R Rygg1, A B Zylstra2, F H Séguin2
1Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551, USA.
Abstract:
A monoenergetic, isotropic proton source suitable for proton radiography applications has been demonstrated at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). A deuterium and helium-3 gas-filled glass capsule was imploded with 39 kJ of laser energy from 24 of NIF's 192 beams. Spectral, spatial, and temporal measurements of the 15-MeV proton product of the (3)He(d,p)(4)He nuclear reaction reveal a bright (10(10) protons/sphere), monoenergetic (ΔE/E = 4%) spectrum with a compact size (80 μm) and isotropic emission (∼13% proton fluence variation and <0.4% mean energy variation). Simultaneous measurements of products produced by the D(d,p)T and D(d,n)(3)He reactions also show 2 × 10(10) isotropically distributed 3-MeV protons.
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