Development of density and temperature profile diagnostics for ICF targets

In the authors' research for the period of September 30, 1993 through December 31, 1994, they have upgraded their equipment in anticipation of the restart of the upgraded lasers at the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics/National Laser User Facility (LLE/NLUF) and elsewhere. As a direct result of cooperation with Dr. Paul Jaanimagi of LLE, they have modified the cathode on a LLE-designed front-illuminated streak camera so as to operate over a wavelength range extending from the x-ray (greater or equal 0.3 nm) into the vacuum ultraviolet (greater 100 nm) spectral regions. They have accomplished this with (coated) screen cathodes which permit the photoelectrons to freely penetrate through the openings after emission from the mesh surfaces. Such cathodes were studied, compared and optimized. In anticipation of the development of these long-wavelength photocathodes, they assembled and tested a xuv flat-field streak spectrograph using a varied-spacing grating and covering the 4-30 nm wavelength region. They successfully obtained spectra of highly-ionized boron and carbon. They have also installed a new 300 grooves/mm, 4.2 deg blazed grating in their 'McPig' microchannel plate equipped grazing incidence spectrograph, and obtained test spectra extending from 3 to 140 nm wavelength.