Beam Smoothing Techniques and Their Implications on Icf X–Ray Lasing Target Performance

In direct driven laser fusion and X–ray lasing experiments, uniform illumination on the target surface is usually required. Although the near–field distribution of the laser output is uniform, the far–field and the quasi–near field distribution are generally nonuniform. We present a new method of focusing by using a lens array to improve the uniform illumination of the target^[1].