DEUTERON AND TRITON INDUCED LIGHT ION REACTIONS PRODUCED VIA HIGH-POWER SHORT-PULSE LASERS

Abstract

Light ion and neutron nuclear reactions can be induced via Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) and Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) using high-power, short-pulse lasers like the OMEGA-60 and OMEGA-EP lasers at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. In order to measure these reactions, the Short-Lived Isotope Counting System (SLICS) was developed. SLICS can be inserted into the OMEGA-60 and OMEGA-EP target chambers using a Ten Inch Manipulator (TIM). As an initial test of the SLICS detector, TNSA deuterons struck a natural lithium target to induce 7Li(d,p)8Li reactions. SLICS then counted the beta decays from the 8Li product nuclei to calculate the 8Li yield, to which predicted yields, calculated using previously measured 7Li(d,p)8Li cross-sections, were compared. The TIM based SLICS is now a standard diagnostic for experiments on OMEGA-60 and OMEGA-EP.