D+D fusion reactions in 1018 W/cm2 intensity and repetitive laser-plasma interactions

We studied D + D fusion reactions at the CELIA/ECLIPSE laser facility. These reactions were triggered by focusing the ECLIPSE laser (up to 100mJ on target, pulse duration of 40 fs and focal spot of 10 (mu)m mu FWHM) on a solid C2D4 target. By detecting the 2.5 MeV neutrons, produced in the D + D fusion reaction, using C6D6 scintillators in a time-of-flight experimental set-up, we measured a rate of a few hundred fusions per shot. At the same time, we detected also energetic ions (up to a few 100 keV) using time-of-flight diamond detectors. The experimental set-up will be presented and the results discussed and compared with dedicated simulations. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2017