Abstract and subjects
Aerogels have been exploited in targets for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and other high-energy-density physics (HEDP) experiments for decades, dating back to the earliest experiments in those fields. Aerogels are ubiquitous in this realm of research and serve many roles in the experiments that utilize them. The combination of diverse properties and compositional flexibility achieved with aerogels is the reason for this: tunable density; mesoporosity (which ensures homogeneity at length scales of microns and greater); availability of a wide range of compositions; amenability to doping, machining, and casting; and being otherwise chemically and structurally versatile. In this chapter, we discuss the various organic and inorganic aerogel materials that have been used and the roles in which they have served ICF and HEDP experiments. In addition to aerogels, we will describe some other related low-density materials that, while perhaps not strictly considered aerogels, are still quite useful and commonly used in ICF/HEDP targets.