Issues for fielding large experiment packages in NIF and implications for IFE target chamber research

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) will support multiple user groups who will use NIF´s unique capability to generate intense pulses of X-ray, neutron and gamma radiation from non ignition and ignition targets. The NIF baseline design includes several features to support these experiments, in particular for large experiment packages that can be introduced through two large ports located at the chamber waist and bottom. Some of these experimental packages will require target-facing surfaces that nearly enclose the target. Due to the short stand-off distances of these surfaces, X-ray ablation inside these confined spaces will generate conditions in NIP quite similar to those envisioned for future inertial fusion energy (IFE) target chambers like HYLIFE. The design of these NIF experiments provides an excellent opportunity to apply the analytical tools the IFE research community has created, and in a synergistic way, these experiments will in turn provide a rich source of experimental data for IFE target-chamber research