Fourth-Generation Laser for Ultra-Broadband Experiments---Expanding Inertial Confinement Fusion Design Space Through Mitigation of Laser$-$\textbPlasma~Instabilities

To demonstrate hydro-equivalent ignition in OMEGA direct-drive experiments, mitigation of cross-beam energy transfer (CBET) and hot-electron generation is likely necessary. Laser--plasma instability (LPI) modeling predicts that an ultraviolet laser with $\Delta \omega $/$\omega $~\textgreater ~1{\%} would increase the laser absorption on OMEGA implosion experiments from 55{\%} to 90{\%} by mitigating CBET while increasing the intensity threshold for hot-electron generation by a factor of 3. An LPI platform is currently being developed on OMEGA that will provide a test bed to demonstrate LPI mitigation using a novel laser FLUX (Fourth-generation Laser for Ultra-broadband eXperiments), which will produce $\Delta \omega $/$\omega $~\textgreater ~1{\%} bandwidth around 351 nm. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0003856.