Experiments of radiation-driven Rayleigh-Taylor instability on the Shenguang-Ⅱ laser facility

In laser indirect-driven inertial-confinement-fusion (ICF), the capsules with multi-layered structure are subjected to hydrodynamic instabilities. Rayleigh-Taylor instability growth at the ablation front and the interface between the DT ice and central gas plays a key role in the success of the fusion ignition. A series of radiation-driven ablation-front RT growth experiments were conducted on Shenguang Ⅱ laser facility. Face-on radiographies were obtained for an extensive set of conditions: different initial amplitude (0.3, 0.44, 1.4, and 2.7 m), different perturbation wavelengths (20, 30, 50, and 72m), and different materials (C50H47Br3, C50H44Br6, C8H8). The onset of second and third harmonics and their growth were well observed in the experiments. The experimental results provide useful database for the validation of our hydrocode simulation.