Indirect drive ICF experiments on the LMJ facility in 2025

We will report on the latest ICF hohlraum experimental campaign that was conducted in 2025 on the LMJ laser facility. During this campaign, approximately 270 kJ of UV energy was delivered to the target using 80 beams. These beams were arranged in 20 quads with a fivefold azimuthal symmetry. The main objective of this campaign was to increase the capsule convergence ratio Rc compared to that achieved in the previous years, while still maintaining a symmetric implosion. The experiment was designed with extensive 2D axisymmetric hydro simulations. Increased ablator thickness (from 70 to 100 µm) was applied in order to enhance Rc. The symmetry was tuned for cylindrical and elliptical (rugby) gas-filled hohlraums using the laser beam pointings and the outer to inner energy balance. The laser energy coupling and implosion performances were measured with a total of up to 13 plasma diagnostics that measured, in particular, time-resolved backscattering, the radiative temperature and the hot spot x-ray emission. Part of the shots were performed with an additional pair of quads dedicated to a radiographic characterization of the capsule implosion. We will present simulations and experimental results that demonstrate a controlled symmetric hot spot X-ray emission at bang time together with the expected highest convergence ratio Rc≃15. These experiments were further simulated with 2D and 3D post-shot calculations that match the measured images reasonably well.