The Nike Laser Facility and its Capabilities

The Nike laser is a 56-beam krypton fluoride (KrF) system that provides 3 to 4~kJ of laser energy on target. The laser uses induced spatial incoherence to achieve highly uniform focal distributions. 44 beams are overlapped onto target with peak intensities up to $10^{16}$~W/cm$^2$. The effective time-averaged illumination nonuniformity is $< 0.2$\%. Nike produces highly uniform ablation pressures on target allowing well-controlled experiments at pressures up to 20~Mbar. The other 12 laser beams are used to generate diagnostic x-rays radiographing the primary laser-illuminated target. The facility includes a front end that generates the desired temporal and spatial laser profiles, two electron-beam pumped KrF amplifiers, a computer-controlled optical system, and a vacuum target chamber for experiments. Nike is used to study the physics and technology issues of direct-drive laser fusion, such as, hydrodynamic and laser-plasma instabilities, studies of the response of materials to extreme pressures, and generation of X rays from laser-heated targets. Nike features a computer-controlled data acquisition system, high-speed, high-resolution x-ray and visible imaging systems, x-ray and visible spectrometers, and cryogenic target capability. Work supported by DOE/NNSA.