Fig. 1. (a) Location and implementation of the VISAR and SOP system. (b) Schematic layout of the system including two channels for the VISAR with two sensitivities (red in the upper table) and one channel for the SOP (blue in the lower table). The inset shows one of the Mach–Zehnder interferometer assemblies.

Fig. 2. The optical ray tracing of the system. The collected signal lights including the reflected VISAR probe laser beam and the self-emission are transported onto the optical table. When it arrives at the SBS, the signal is split into two recording paths, the interferometer section (red arrow) and the SOP section (blue arrow). The insets show the designed spot sizes with different illumination lenses at the same position. L, lens; M, mirror; IP, imaging position; BS, beam splitter; PBS, polarization beam splitter; SBS, special beam splitter (dichroic mirror); TCC, target chamber center; SC, streak camera.

Fig. 3. Typical parameters of the VISAR in the DCI campaign. (a) A 500-μm-diameter light-spot with imposed interferometer fringes is obtained by using an illumination lens with F = 2200 mm. (b) The spatial resolution of the whole system is better than 7 μm using the tested reticle placing at the TCC. (c) The obtained relationship between the emission temperature and the measured count value. (d) The static fringes in the field of view are swept by the SC.

Fig. 4. Multiple shocks are launched by a designed three-picket laser pulse interacting with a planar CH target. These shock timing behaviors can be clearly observed by the VISAR (a) and SOP (b). The discontinued fringes in the VISAR image and the corresponding peak intensity in the SOP image represent the generated shocks. The velocity of these shocks is obtained by extracting the shifted fringes (c). The dark region is the blinking time. The inset shows the target structure, where baffle plates are placed in the front and the rear side of the target to block the drive laser and scattered light.

Fig. 5. The compression and acceleration of the CH spherical shell inside a cone target is observed by the VISAR (a) and SOP (b). The compression is driven by a three-picket laser pulse (0–1.3 ns) and the acceleration is driven by a square main pulse (1.3–4.2 ns). The VISAR image shows that there is a blinding time roughly at approximately 1 ns during compression process. It is caused by the photoionization from the third picket interaction with the CH shell. The contrast of the region (~70–120 μm) in the upper SOP image is changed to make the timing reference clearer.