Development of an Activation-Based Diagnostic for Measurement of Laser-Driven Ion Sources in Support of Ion Fast Ignition

Ion fast ignition (IFI), a promising alternative path to high-gain inertial fusion energy (IFE), relies on focusing laser-driven ion beams (e.g. protons or heavier ions) into a pre-compressed fusion fuel assembly to rapidly heat the fuel to conditions favorable for fusion ignition. Understanding whether heavier ions exhibit different focusing behavior than protons is an open question for some IFI concepts that rely on heavier ions, and this provides motivation for a diagnostic tool that can measure the spatial profiles of laser-driven protons and heavier ions separately. Previous work has used auto-radiography of proton-activated copper and silver samples to measure the spatial profile of laser-driven protons with high spatial resolution. Through a simulation study, we extend this previous work to heavier ions and investigate possible activation materials to distinctly measure the spatial profile of deuterons as a test case. Using G4beamlines, a Monte Carlo-based particle tracking software, this work models deuteron activation of several candidate materials. Results of this synthetic diagnostic study are presented showing preliminary diagnostic designs to measure the spatial profile of laser-driven deuterons.