Assessment of Inertial Confinement Fusion Targets (2013) / Chapter Skim
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to investigate the overall prospects for IFE in an unclassified report and the separate Panel on Fusion Target Physics ("the panel") to focus on issues specific to fusion targets, including the results of relevant classified experiments and classified information on the implications of IFE targets for the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
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There are two major concepts for inertial confinement fusion target design: direct-drive targets, in which the driver energy strikes directly on the fuel capsule, and indirect-drive targets, in which the driver energy first strikes the inside surface of a hollow chamber (a hohlraum) surrounding the fuel capsule, producing ener getic X-rays that compress the fuel capsule.
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A much better understanding of LPI will be required of the ICF community. CONCLUSION 4-2: Based on its analysis of the gaps in current understanding of target physics and the remaining disparities between simulations and experimental results, the panel assesses that ignition using laser indirect drive is not likely in the next several years.
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In addition, the tight coupling of LIFE to what can be tested on the NIF constrains the potential design space for laser-driven, indirect-drive IFE. Targets for Direct-Drive Laser Inertial Fusion Energy CONCLUSION 4-6: The prospects for ignition using laser direct drive have improved enough that it is now a plausible alternative to laser indirect drive for achieving ignition and for generating energy.
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Undesirable effects include backscattering of laser light, which can result in loss of energy; cross-beam energy transfer among intersecting laser beams, which can cause loss of energy or affect implosion symmetry; acceleration of suprathermal "hot electrons," which then can penetrate and preheat the capsule's interior and limit later implosion; and filamentation, a self-focusing instability that can exacerbate other LPI. LPI have been a key limiting factor in laser inertial confinement fusion, including the NIC indirect-drive targets, and are still incompletely understood.
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• The HIF program relating to advanced target designs is in a very early stage and is unlikely to be ready for technical assessment in the near term. • The development of driver technology will take several years, and the cost to build a significant accelerator driver facility for any target is likely to be very high.
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Proliferation Risks of IFE Many modern nuclear weapons rely on a fusion stage as well as a fission stage, and there has been discussion of the potential for host state proliferation -- particularly vertical proliferation -- associated with the siting of an IFE power plant. The panel was asked to evaluate the proliferation risks associated with IFE, particularly with regard to IFE targets.
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It will be less helpful in gathering information relevant to current Z-pinch, heavy ion direct drive, and heavy-ion advanced target concepts. OVERARCHING CONCLUSION 2: It would be advantageous to continue research on a range of IFE concepts, for two reasons: • The challenges involved in the current laser indirect-drive approach in the single-pulse National Nuclear Security Administration program at the NIF have not yet been resolved, and • The alternatives to laser indirect drive have technical promise to produce high gain.
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OVERARCHING RECOMMENDATION: The panel recommends against pursuing a down-select decision for IFE at this time, either for a specific concept such as LIFE or for a specific target type/driver combination. Further R&D will be needed on indirect drive and other ICF concepts, even following successful ignition at the NIF, to determine the best path for IFE in the coming decades.
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