Results in some directions of the target technology for research on high energy density and laser fusion at the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre–All-Russia Research Institute of Experimental Physics for the last three years are presented. The results of development of optical and X-ray methods of characterization and manufacturing techniques of targets for studying the equation-of-state at high pressures and the condensed rare gas targets for the influence of pulse-repeated laser irradiation are given.

Review of some research into laser thermonuclear fusion carried out in Russian Federal Nuclear Center (RFNC-VNIIEF) within the last several years is presented. The review begins with a brief survey into ICF development in RFNC-VNIIEF starting from A.D. Sakharov and S.B. Kormer's pioneer proposals of the 1960s. The review concludes with the exposition of historical background of the 10 TW ISKRA-4 and 100 TW ISKRA-5 laser facilities creation and with the prospects of the 300 kJ ISKRA-6 (λ= 0.35 μm) laser development. The results of survey carried out at the ISKRA-5 facility are presented in the review. The high degree of symmetry (nonuniformity < 3%) of irradiation of a DT-shell by the X-ray emission made it possible to successfully conduct experiments with the asymmetrical shells. The asymmetry was effected through the asymmetrical Mg layers deposition on a spherically uniform glass shell surface. The asymmetry impact on neutron yield and the moment of neutron generation was investigated. The line X-ray emission characteristics of the H-like and He-like Ar, Fe, and Al ions were studied in another set of experiments. Ar was doped into DT-gas, while Fe and Al were deposited on the CH spherical hohlraums' inner surface. Development of the Cherenkov radiation generator in which the electron motion is actuated by the faster-than-light X-ray pulse motion on the surface of a plane sample, being under voltage, is reported. And in fine a brief description of experiments carried out at the ISKRA-4 facility under the program of turbulent mixing in plane multi layer targets is presented.

This paper is devoted to the investigation of powerful laser pulse interaction with regularly and statistically volume-structured media with near critical average density and properties of laser-produced plasma of such a media. The results of the latest experiments on laser pulse interaction with plane foam targets performed on Nd-laser facilities “ABC” in the ENEA-EURATOM Association (Frascati, Italy) and “MISHEN” in the Troitsk Institute of Innovation Thermonuclear Investigations (TRINITI, Troitsk Russia), and J-laser “ISKRA-4” in the Russian Federal Nuclear Center, All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics (RFNC-VNIIEF, Sarov, Russia) are presented and analyzed. High efficiency of the internal volume absorption of laser radiation in the foams of supercritical density was observed, and the dynamics of absorbing region formation and velocity of energy transfer process versus the parameters of porous matter are found. Some inertial confinement fusion (ICF) applications based on nonequilibrium properties of laser-produced plasma of a foam and regularly structured media such as the powerful neutron source with yield of 109–1011 DT-neutrons per 1 J of laser energy, laser-produced X-ray generation in high temperature supercritical plasma, and the compact ICF target absorbers providing effective smoothing and ablation are proposed.

The investigations of the influence of various types of wavefront distortions, varying in time, on the intensity distribution on the surface of a target are carried out. It is shown that distortions of a wavefront, equivalent to transverse displacement in time of a beam in far field at an angle of approximately 10 diffraction angles, results in practically full smoothing of a specl-structure of intensity distribution. Creation of phase distortions of a beam assigned as running in a cross section wave with an amplitude of more than 3 radian and with a spatial size exceeding 20–30 times the size of the kinoform phase plate element, permits us to reduce the depth of modulation in distribution of intensity in far field also. The capability of application is considered as a smoothing device of the dynamic plasma layer, based on the volume-structured medium. The model of energy transport process in such media is developed. Matching of calculation and experimental results is conducted.

Results of turbulent mixing research of thin Al and Au layers under laser acceleration of the three-laser targets Si/Al/Au are presented. Analyses of experimental data under the program SND-TUR, where the Nikiforov model is used for turbulent mixing description, testify to the essential impact of hot spots on the examined processes in distribution of laser radiation intensity on the surface of the target. Experimental setup on the laser beams' smoothing by the “foam” coated on the target, has been considered. The results of the first experiments are presented.

Two shells with the diameter of 0.8–0.9 mm and a wall thickness of ≅1 μm were produced at the Lebedev Physics Institute for the experiments conducted at the ISKRA-5 facility. The results of two experiments with the aforementioned shells conducted at the ISKRA-5 facility with the use of an indirect-drive set up. In one of the experiments, the diameter of the golden hohlraum was D = 2 mm while in the other it was D = 4 mm. In these experiments it was observed to be ≅4 times the difference of the average laser intensity on the hohlraum surface. The results of computational analysis of the experiments are also presented here.

Since 1973, research into the problem of laser thermonuclear fusion has been carried out at VNIIEF. For this purpose, laser iodine facilities ISKRA-4 and ISKRA-5 with the peak radiation power up to 100 TW have been created. In the present work, the main stages of these facilities creation, approaches to the selection of the pumping sources, working media, optical scheme, radiation focusing system, the system of the pumping sources energy feed, laser radiation, and plasma parameters diagnostics methods are shown. There are also presented types of the targets, filled with DT-gas, in which the high temperature plasma is formed and its parameters are studied. Data on values of neutron yield, of X rays in wide energy range, degree of implosion, and data on mix of heavy and light layers of matter are presented as well.

The interaction of a plasma produced by irradiation of perforated foils with laser pulses was studied. The laser beam of the first harmonics of the iodine laser (λ = 1.315 μm) system PERUN was focused by anf/2 optics (f = 20 cm) on a hole in the foil target of high-Z material. The laser energy and the temporal shape of the pulses were monitored both before and behind the hole. Foils of two different materials (Pb, Cu) were used, and a series of hole diameters 2rH ranging from 100 μm to 500 μm were tested. The diameter of the laser focal spot 2r0 was about 150 μm. For hole diameters smaller than 300 μm, a shortening of the laser pulse was observed, demonstrating the effect of plasma shutter. The pulse shortening, which depends on the hole diameter, corresponds to the reduction in the pulse energy passing through the hole. An analysis of the experimental data is based on hydrodynamic computations, and the physics of the process is illustrated by a simple analytical model.