Increasing shot and data collection rates of the Shock/Shear experiment at the National Ignition Facility
Updates to the Los Alamos laser-driven high-energy-density Shock/Shear mixing- layer experiment are reported, which have collectively increased the platform's shot and data acquisition rates. Also, the strategies employed have included a move from two-strip to four-strip imagers (allowing four times to be recorded per shot instead of two), the implementation of physics-informed rules of engagements allowing for the maximum flexibility in a shot's total energy and symmetry performance, and by splitting the laser's main drive pulse from a monolithic single pulse equal to all beams into a triply-segmented pulse which minimizes optics damage.