Complete time-resolved polarimetry of scattered light at the National Ignition Facility

The 3ω scattered light polarimetry diagnostic in the 30° incidence cone backscatter diagnostic at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is being upgraded to measure the full time-resolved Stokes vector. Previously, the diagnostic had a single channel capable of diagnosing the time-integrated balance of the horizontal and vertical polarizations. Two additional channels were added – one that measures the balance of the 45° and 135° projections, and another that measures the right- and left-circular polarizations – and together the three complete the Stokes vector measurement. A division-of-aperture scheme is employed in which three nearby portions of the near field are sampled simultaneously. Time resolution is obtained by relaying an image of the measured regions onto a set of fibers coupled to diodes. The new diagnostic will be capable of measuring scattered light signals <≈ .1GW with ≈ 120ps time resolution. This will allow more rigorous evaluation of earlier indications that backscatter polarization can serve as a quantitative diagnostic of crossed-beam energy transfer in indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion experiments. It will also be used to diagnose Faraday rotation induced by magnetic fields in collisionless shock and turbulent dynamo experiments later this year.

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