Baseline design of a 5-7 kJ KrF laser facility for direct illumination ICF experiments

This report presents the baseline design for a 48 channel angularly-multiplexed KrF laser system, using amplifier modules similar to those in the AURORA laser at Los Alamos National Laboratory. With output energies of 5-7 kJ, pulsewidths approx. = 5 ns, and broadband (20 1/cm) capabilities, the proposed system is intended primarily for laser-plasma experiments related to direct-drive inertial confinement fusion. The design incorporates the NRL induced spatial incoherence (ISI) technique into each beam in order to achieve the smoothly-varying and controllable irradiation profiles essential to the direct-drive approach. The option of using stimulated Raman scattering to improve the beam quality prior to the ISI echelons is also discussed.