A High Repetition Rate Target and Plasma Mirror Inserter Based on Liquid Crystal Films

Multiple >1 Hz PW class lasers are now on-line with more under construction. There is an immediate need for provision of targets and plasma mirrors at these high rates so these machines can perform high energy density (HED) experiments on solid density targets. We have shown previously that films made of the liquid crystal (LC) 8CB make quality thin (10 nm to >1 μm) targets for ion acceleration (Poole, et al., Applied Physics Letters 109, 151109 (2016)) and plasma mirrors for pulse contrast enhancement (Poole et al., Scientific Reports 6, 32041 (2016)) at ~1 shot/minute repetition rates. Here we describe a novel device that can deliver 10-30 nm thick LC films for use as plasma mirrors at repetition rates up to 3 Hz with good film flatness, uniformity, and pointing at a very low cost per film. We discuss the significant challenges met with and overcome for this work. Additionally, we discuss different challenges involved in developing a similar device for targets at high repetition rates as well as other novel approaches being considered.