Laser-driven magnetized liner inertial fusion on OMEGA

Journal Article · Wed May 03 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4982692· OSTI ID:1375642

Barnak, D. H.; Davies, J. R.; Betti, R.; Bonino, M. J.; Campbell, E. M.; Glebov, V. Yu.; Harding, D. R.; Knauer, J. P.; Regan, S. P.; Sefkow, A. B.; Harvey-Thompson, A. J.; Peterson, K. J.; Sinars, D. B.; Slutz, S. A.; Weis, M. R.; Chang, P. -Y.

Magneto-inertial fusion (MIF) combines the compression of fusion fuel, a hallmark of inertial confinement fusion (ICF), with strongly magnetized plasmas that suppress electron heat losses, a hallmark of magnetic fusion. It can reduce the traditional velocity, pressure, and convergence ratio requirements of ICF. The magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) concept being studied at the Z Pulsed-Power Facility is a key target concept in the U.S. ICF Program. Laser-driven MagLIF is being developed on OMEGA to test the scaling of MagLIF over a range of absorbed energy of the order of 1 kJ on OMEGA to 500 kJ on Z. It is also valuable as a platform for studying the key physics of MIF. An energy-scaled point design has been developed for OMEGA that is roughly 10 × smaller in linear dimensions than Z MagLIF targets. A 0.6-mm-outer-diameter plastic cylinder filled with 2.4 mg/cm3 of D2 is placed in a ∼10-T axial magnetic field, generated by a Magneto-inertial fusion electrical discharge system, the cylinder is compressed by 40 OMEGA beams, and the gas fill is preheated by a single OMEGA beam propagating along the axis. Preheating to >100 eV and axially uniform compression over 0.7 mm have been demonstrated, separately, in a series of preparatory experiments that meet our initial expectations. The preliminary results from the first integrated experiments combining magnetization, compression, and preheat demonstrating a roughly 2 x increase in the neutron yield will be reported here for the first time.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
• Grant/Contract Number: NA0001944; AR0000568
• OSTI ID: 1375642
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 24; ISSN 1070-664X
• Publisher: American Institute of Physics
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English