Shiva target irradiation facility

The first laser/plasma studies performed with the Shiva laser system will be two sided irradiations extending the data obtained by other LLL lasers to higher powers. The twenty approximately 1 TW laser pulses will reach the target simultaneously from above and below in nested pentagonal clusters. The upper and lower clusters of ten beams each are radially polarized so that they strike the target in p-polarization and maximize absorption. This geometry introduces laser system isolation problems which will be briefly discussed. The layout and types of target diagnostics will be described and a brief status report on the facility given