Transient x-ray diffraction used to diagnose shock compressed Si crystals on the Nova laser

Transient x-ray diffraction is used to record time-resolved information abo ut the shock compression of materials. This technique has been applied on N ova shock experiments driven using a hohlraum x-ray drive. Data were record ed from the shock release at the free surface of a Si crystal, as well as f rom Si at an embedded ablator/Si interface. Modeling has been done to simul ate the diffraction data incorporating the strained crystal rocking curves and Bragg diffraction efficiencies. Examples of the data and post-processed simulations are presented. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0034- 6748(99)62601-6].