High resolution imaging systems for inertial confinement fusion experiments

The path to successfull inertial confinement fusion (ICF) requires to observe and control the microballoon deformations. This will be achieved using X-ray microscope among other diagnostics. A high resolution, high energy X-ray microscope involving state-of-the-art toroidal mirorrs and multilayer coatings is described. Years of experiments and experience have led to a small-scale X-ray plasma imager that proves the feasability of all the features required for a LMJ diagnostic: spatial resolution of 5 mu m, broad bandwidth, millimetric field of view (FOV). Using the feed back given by this diagnostic, a prototype for the Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) experiments has been designed. The experimental results of the first diagnostic and the concepts of the second are discussed.