Charge-injection-device performance in the high-energy-neutron environment of laser-fusion experiments.

Charge-injection devices (CIDs) are being used to image x rays in laser-fusion experiments on the University of Rochester's OMEGA Laser System. The CID cameras are routinely used up to the maximum neutron yields generated (∼10(14) DT). The detectors are deployed in x-ray pinhole cameras and Kirkpatrick-Baez microscopes. The neutron fluences ranged from ∼10(7) to ∼10(9) neutrons/cm(2) and useful x-ray images were obtained even at the highest fluences. It is intended to use CID cameras at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) as a supporting means of recording x-ray images. The results of this work predict that x-ray images should be obtainable on the NIF at yields up to ∼10(15), depending on distance and shielding.