Fast Ignition Targets for Modern Inertial Confinement Fusion Experiments

Abstract

Computational and theoretical studies have made it possible to propose targets with compression characteristics that meet the requirements for fast ignition at a moderate nanosecond laser pulse energy of several hundred kilojoules, which is achievable in modern experiments. These targets feature a significantly higher deuterium–tritium fuel content per unit laser energy compared to a traditional spark ignition target and can achieve deuterium–tritium plasma volume and surface densities of 200–300 g/cm³ and 1–2 g/cm², respectively. Subsequent rapid heating of the compressed target using a picosecond pulse can ensure a gain factor (the ratio of the fusion reaction energy to the energy expended on target compression and heating) of several tens.