Utilizing the OMEGA High-Resolution Velocimeter (OHRV) to Quantify Shock-Front Non-Uniformities in Wetted Foams

Foams printed using 2-Photon Polymerization (2PP) and wetted with liquid DT provide a promising new target platform for understanding target degradation mechanisms in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. These wetted foam targets are less expensive and easier to produce than solid ice layered targets, enabling more rapid fielding of dense-fuel implosions. Radiation hydrodynamic simulations of polar direct drive liquid DT-wetted foams have shown increased laser-target coupling, increased fusion yield, and reliable ignition [1]. Experimental characterization of DT-wetted foams to validate these simulations and better understand the target platform is vital. Using OMEGA’s Capseed Campaign platform, planar shock fronts will be generated within wetted foams, and their nonuniformities will be diagnosed with the OHRV. By varying fill structures and densities, the shock-front nonuniformities and hydrodynamic instabilities seeded by the microstructure of a wetted foam can be characterized. This will provide insight into whether wetted foams may prove to be a tunable platform for investigating hydrodynamic instabilities in ICF implosions.

[1] R. Olson et al., Wetted Foam ICF Target Concept: IFE Workshop white paper (2022).