Testing IFE materials on Z

On a single-pulse basis, the tungsten armor for the chamber walls in a laser inertial fusion energy power plant must withstand X-ray fluences of 0.4–1.2 J/cm2 with almost no mass loss, and preferably no surface changes. We have exposed preheated tungsten samples to 0.27 and 0.9 J/cm2 X-ray fluence from the Z accelerator at Sandia National Laboratories to determine the single-shot X-ray damage threshold. Earlier focused ion beam analysis has shown that rolled powdered metal formed tungsten and tungsten alloys, will melt when exposed to 2.3 J/cm2 on Z, but not at 1.3 J/cm2. Three forms of tungsten – single-crystal (SING), chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD), and rolled powdered metal (PWM) – were exposed to fluence levels of 0.9 J/cm2 without any apparent melting. However, the CVD and PWM sample surfaces were rougher after exposure than the SING sample, which was not roughened. BUCKY (1D) calculations show a threshold of 0.5 J/cm2 for melting on Z. The present experiments indicate no melting but limited surface changes occur with polycrystalline samples (PWM and CVD) at 0.9 J/cm2 and no surface changes other than debris for samples at 0.27 J/cm2.