Bootstrap estimation of the effect of instrument response function uncertainty on the reconstruction of fusion neutron sources.

Neutron imagers are important diagnostics for the inertial confinement fusion implosions at the National Ignition Facility. They provide two- and three-dimensional reconstructions of the neutron source shape that are key indicators of the overall performance. To interpret the shape results properly, it is critical to estimate the uncertainty in those reconstructions. There are two main sources of uncertainties: limited neutron statistics, leading to random errors in the reconstructed images, and incomplete knowledge of the instrument response function (the pinhole-dependent point spread function). While the statistical errors dominate the uncertainty for lower yield deuterium-tritium (DT) shots, errors due to the instrument response function dominate the uncertainty for DT yields on the order of 1016 neutrons or higher. In this work, a bootstrapping method estimates the uncertainty in a reconstructed image due to the incomplete knowledge of the instrument response function. The main reconstruction is created from the fixed collection of pinhole images that are best aligned with the neutron source. Additional reconstructions are then built using subsets of that collection of images. Variations in the shapes of these additional reconstructions originate solely from uncertainties in the instrument response function, allowing us to use them to provide an additional systematic uncertainty estimate.

One dimensional imager of neutrons on the Z machine.

We recently developed a one-dimensional imager of neutrons on the Z facility. The instrument is designed for Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) experiments, which produce D-D neutrons yields of ∼3 × 1012. X-ray imaging indicates that the MagLIF stagnation region is a 10-mm long, ∼100-µm diameter column. The small radial extents and present yields precluded useful radial resolution, so a one-dimensional imager was developed. The imaging component is a 100-mm thick tungsten slit; a rolled-edge slit limits variations in the acceptance angle along the source. CR39 was chosen as a detector due to its negligible sensitivity to the bright x-ray environment in Z. A layer of high density poly-ethylene is used to enhance the sensitivity of CR39. We present data from fielding the instrument on Z, demonstrating reliable imaging and track densities consistent with diagnosed yields. For yields ∼3 × 1012, we obtain resolutions of ∼500 µm.

One-dimensional neutron imager for the Sandia Z facility.

A multiinstitution collaboration is developing a neutron imaging system for the Sandia Z facility. The initial system design is for slit aperture imaging system capable of obtaining a one-dimensional image of a 2.45 MeV source producing 5x10(12) neutrons with a resolution of 320 microm along the axial dimension of the plasma, but the design being developed can be modified for two-dimensional imaging and imaging of DT neutrons with other resolutions. This system will allow us to understand the spatial production of neutrons in the plasmas produced at the Z facility.

Fringe-free, background-free, collinear third-harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating measurements for multiphoton microscopy.

A background-free, fringe-free form of frequency-resolved optical gating using the third-harmonic signal generated from a glass coverslip is used to characterize 100 fs pulses at the focus of a 0.65 NA objective.