Thomson scattering in high-background plasmas using polarization-resolved spectroscopy

Diagnosing the conditions of high-energy-density plasmas using optical Thomson scattering is often hindered by strong background signals present in the data. Separating scattered light by the polarization state allows discrimination between the Thomson-scattered signal and the thermal, self-emission background because the Thomson-scattered light is linearly polarized and the background is unpolarized. A Wollaston prism spectrometer provides polarization separation and spectral dispersion, enabling two spectra to be recorded simultaneously in a single shot using a streak camera. A prototype spectrometer was successfully fielded on OMEGA, demonstrating the viability of this approach for characterizing coronal plasmas generated in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion experiments using a 263-nm Thomson probe.