[en] The Neutron Imaging (NI) diagnostic is designed to be used at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). This instrument will be used to image both primary (14MeV neutrons) and down scattered (6-8MeV neutrons). The pinhole body sits 225mm from the target, while the scintillator and recording systems are located 28m from the target. The diagnostic uses port 90, 315 and the recording system is located in a specifically built room located outside of switchyard I. The location of the pinhole and the recording system combine to give a magnification of 104. The recording of both the primary and downscattered image is done by recording the image from both the front and back side of the scintillator.

[en] The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is scheduled to begin deuterium-tritium (DT) shots possibly in the next several years. One of the important diagnostics in understanding capsule behavior and to guide changes in Hohlraum illumination, capsule design, and geometry will be neutron imaging of both the primary 14 MeV neutrons and the lower-energy downscattered neutrons in the 6-13 MeV range. The neutron imaging system (NIS) described here, which we are currently building for use on NIF, uses a precisely aligned set of apertures near the target to form the neutron images on a segmented scintillator. The images are recorded on a gated, intensified charge coupled device. Although the aperture set may be as close as 20 cm to the target, the imaging camera system will be located at a distance of 28 m from the target. At 28 m the camera system is outside the NIF building. Because of the distance and shielding, the imager will be able to obtain images with little background noise. The imager will be capable of imaging downscattered neutrons from failed capsules with yields Y_n>10¹⁴ neutrons. The shielding will also permit the NIS to function at neutron yields >10¹⁸, which is in contrast to most other diagnostics that may not work at high neutron yields. The following describes the current NIF NIS design and compares the predicted performance with the NIF specifications that must be satisfied to generate images that can be interpreted to understand results of a particular shot. The current design, including the aperture, scintillator, camera system, and reconstruction methods, is briefly described. System modeling of the existing Omega NIS and comparison with the Omega data that guided the NIF design based on our Omega results is described. We will show NIS model calculations of the expected NIF images based on component evaluations at Omega. We will also compare the calculated NIF input images with those unfolded from the NIS images generated from our NIS numerical modeling code.

[en] Gated X-Ray Detectors (GXD) are considered the work-horse target diagnostic of the laser based inertial confinement fusion (ICF) program. Recently, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has constructed three new GXDs for the Orion laser facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in the United Kingdom. What sets these three new instruments apart from the what has previously been constructed for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is: improvements in detector head microwave transmission lines, solid state embedded hard drive and updated control software, and lighter air box design and other incremental mechanical improvements. In this paper we will present the latest GXD design enhancements and sample calibration data taken on the Trident laser facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory using the newly constructed instruments.

[en] Time gating a neutron detector 28m from a NIF implosion can produce images at different energies. The brighter image near 14 MeV reflects the size and symmetry of the capsule 'hot spot'. Scattered neutrons, ∼9.5-13 MeV, reflect the size and symmetry of colder, denser fuel, but with only ∼1-7% of the neutrons. The gated detector records both the scattered neutron image, and, to a good approximation, an attenuated copy of the primary image left by scintillator decay. By modeling the imaging system the energy band for the scattered neutron image (10-12 MeV) can be chosen, trading off the decayed primary image and the decrease of scattered image brightness with energy. Modeling light decay from EJ399, BC422, BCF99-55, Xylene, DPAC-30, and Liquid A leads to a preference from BCF99-55 for the first NIF detector, but DPAC 30 and Liquid A would be preferred if incorporated into a system. Measurement of the delayed light from the NIF scintillator using implosions at the Omega laser shows BCF99-55 to be a good choice for down-scattered imaging at 28m.