Direct absolute equation of state measurements for CH foams were obtained with direct drive laser shock compression at the NIKE KrF laser. Excimer lasers offer superior performance over glass architectures for extreme environment investigations.

Krypton-fluoride laser is an attractive inertial fusion energy driver from the standpoint of target physics. Target designs taking advantage of zooming, shock ignition, and favorable physics with KrF reach energy gains of 200 with sub-MJ laser energy. The designs are robust under 2D simulations. Experiments on the Nike KrF laser support the physics basis.

We present experimental results on the interaction of short-pulse ultra-high-intensity laser beams with small size (“mass-limited”) targets. Several diagnostics (X-ray spectroscopy, Kα and optical imaging of target rear side) have been simultaneously used in order to characterize the laser-generated fast electron transport and energy deposition into the target material. Our results show that fast electrons are effectively confined inside the target by the induced space charge. This electrostatic confinement opens new opportunities to create “Warm Dense Matter” states characterized by solid-state density and temperatures of the order of a few tens of eV.