Cryostat to provide a solid deuterium layer in a plastic shell for the Gekko XII glass laser system

A system to provide a liquid or solid deuterium shell target with a plastic ablator for laser implosion experiments was developed. The system is capable of filling a plastic capsule with deuterium gas of 11 MPa at room temperature at the firing position in the target chamber. Then, the target is cooled down to a cryogenic temperature to form a uniform liquid or solid fuel layer inside without exposing it to the atmosphere. Details of the system, tensile strength of polystyrene shells at low temperature, and the residual vapor pressure in the central void of the target at the laser irradiation are described.