A High-Pressure Filling and Layering Apparatus for Cyrogenic Hohlraums

A newly operational facility known as the Deuterium Test System (D₂TS) has become available at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The D₂TS provides the capability to perform integrated tests with many of the technologies necessary to deliver and shoot a cryogenic target on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Procedures used to successfully fill and cool NIF ignition scale targets to cryogenic temperatures are reported. The first attempts at making cryogenic layers in these targets will also be discussed. These experiments are the first without fill tubes at LLNL. The primary technique used to create symmetrical layers of deuterium ice is infrared enhancement.