Enhanced Hot-Electron Production And Strong-Shock Generation In Hydrogen-Rich Ablators For Shock Ignition

Experiments were performed with CH, Be, C, and SiO2 ablators interacting with high-intensity UV laser radiation (5 x 10(15) W/cm(2), k = 351 nm) to determine the optimum material for hot-electron production and strong-shock generation. Significantly more hot electrons are produced in CH (up to similar to 13% instantaneous conversion efficiency), while the amount is a factor of similar to 2 to 3 lower in the other ablators. A larger hot-electron fraction is correlated with a higher effective ablation pressure. The higher conversion efficiency in CH is attributed to stronger damping of ion-acoustic waves because of the presence of light H ions. Published by AIP Publishing.