Fabrication of capsules with angle-dependent gold shims for hohlraum drive symmetry correction

In the heavy ion drive hybrid target design for fusion energy, the hohlraum drive suffers from low mode, in particular, P4, asymmetry. Recent target designs have shown that this asymmetry can be removed by shimming the capsule with a high Z material. The shim varies in thickness as a function of the polar angle precisely to correct the asymmetry precisely. In this paper, we report on the first attempt at fabrication of such targets. These targets are typically ∼4.7 mm in diameter and 20–30 μm in wall thickness, with a gold coating as the shim, approximately a few tenths of micrometers in thickness. These targets were made for experiments at Sandia National Laboratoryʹs (SNL) double-ended Z-pinch experiments, which closely mimic heavy ion drive. We discuss fabrication and characterization issues involved in making these targets.