The NIF Ignition Program: progress and planning

Abstract

The first experimental campaign for ignition, beginning in 2010 after NIF construction and commissioning are completed, will include experiments to measure and optimize key laser and target conditions necessary for ignition. These "tuning campaigns" will precede the first ignition shots. Ignition requires acceptable target performance in several key areas: Energetics, Symmetry, Shock timing, and Capsule Hydrodynamics. Detailed planning and simulations for "tuning campaigns" in each of these areas is currently underway, as part of the National Ignition Campaign (NIC) Program. Tuning and diagnostic methods are being developed and tested on present facilities, including the Omega laser at the Laboratory for Energetics (LLE), the Z facility at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and the Trident laser at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

High-mode Rayleigh-Taylor growth in NIF ignition capsules

“…Early experiments will include a campaign investigating the performance of capsules with ''layered'' cryogenic fuel [11]. Consistent with limits of early routine facility operation, the NIF laser pulse will be limited to power levels below that of the ''ignition pulse shape'' and the neutron yield will be limited by altering the composition of the fuel layer to w75% T 2 :25% H 2 , with a small amount of D 2 (this composition is referred to as ''THD'') for nuclear diagnostic measurements.…”

Inertial confinement fusion implosions with imposed magnetic field compression using the OMEGA Laser

“…Compression of the target in laser-driven ICF is pursued using two distinct methods: In the direct-drive scheme, 4,5 multiple laser beams irradiate the capsule uniformly, driving an ablative compression of the shell. In indirect drive, 6 the laser irradiates the inner walls of a cavity of high atomic number (Hohlraum), generating a thermal x-ray bath of 200-300 eV that drives the ablative capsule implosion. In both cases, at the end of the compression phase, the fuel assembly consists of a hot ($3-8 keV), moderate density ($30-100 g/cm 3 ) central hot spot, surrounded by a colder ($200-400 eV) but dense ($300-1000 g/cm 3 ) fuel layer.…”

Thermal conductivity of diamond under extreme pressure: A first-principles study

“…Recently, considerable attention has been focused on the properties of diamond under extreme pressure in connection to planetary astrophysics [2,3], to capsules for inertially confined fusion [4], and to the understanding of processes deep within the Earth [5]. Diamond has also proven to be an ideal test material for both theoretical [6][7][8] and experimental [9][10][11] high-pressure studies with measured pressures reaching as high as 800GPa [11].…”