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Fast ignition inertial fusion energy using laser-driven ion beams

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1843149· OSTI ID:1843149
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [3];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  2. Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); Focused Energy, LLC, Austin, TX (United States)
  3. Focused Energy, LLC, Austin, TX (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Ion fast ignition (IFI), or fusion fast ignition initiated by a laser-driven ion beam, is a promising path to high-gain inertial fusion energy (IFE). In IFI, cold, dense deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel is first assembled using lasers or pulsed power drivers. Then, a high-power ion beam is focused onto a small volume within the fuel (the hot spot), heating the fuel rapidly to conditions where fusion ignition takes place. Fusion burn in this hot spot propagates to the fuel surrounding the hot spot, leading to burnup of a significant fraction of this fuel and the possibility of high gain (G~100), as needed for inertial fusion energy. IFI uses separate drivers for the two basic elements, fuel compression and ignition, allowing maximum control and optimization of each. On the other hand, conventional laser fusion uses multiple beams of the same driver to compress the fuel and shock-heat its very center to ignite a burn wave. Despite impressive progress in conventional laser fusion, the precise spatial symmetry, temporal pulse shaping and timing required for high gain and IFE remain a serious unmet challenge.
Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
DOE Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001
OSTI ID:
1843149
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-22-20681
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
inertial confinement fusion
inertial fusion energy
laser generated ion beams