Shock-ignition relevant experiments with planar targets on OMEGA

Here we report on laser-driven, strong-shock generation and hot-electron production in planar targets in the presence of a pre-plasma at shock-ignition (SI) relevant laser and pre-plasma conditions. 2-D simulations reproduce the shock dynamics well, indicating ablator shocks of up to 75 Mbar have been generated. We observe hot-electron temperatures of ~70 keV at intensities of 1.4 x 1015 W/cm2 with multiple overlapping beams driving the two-plasmon decay instability. When extrapolated to SI-relevant intensities of ~1016 W/cm2, the hot electron temperature will likely exceed 100 keV, suggesting that tightly focused beams without overlap are better suited for launching the ignitor shock.