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A credible pathway for heavy ion driven target fabrication and injection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2003

D.T. GOODIN ,
A. NOBILE ,
N.B. ALEXANDER ,
L.C. BROWN ,
J.L. MAXWELL ,
J. PULSIFER ,
A.M. SCHWENDT ,
M. TILLACK  and
R.S. WILLMS
D.T. GOODIN
Affiliation:
General Atomics, San Diego, California 92186-5608 USA
A. NOBILE
Affiliation:
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 USA
N.B. ALEXANDER
Affiliation:
General Atomics, San Diego, California 92186-5608 USA
L.C. BROWN
Affiliation:
General Atomics, San Diego, California 92186-5608 USA
J.L. MAXWELL
Affiliation:
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 USA
J. PULSIFER
Affiliation:
University of California, La Jolla, California 92093-0417 USA
A.M. SCHWENDT
Affiliation:
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 USA
M. TILLACK
Affiliation:
University of California, La Jolla, California 92093-0417 USA
R.S. WILLMS
Affiliation:
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 USA
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Abstract

The Target Fabrication Facility (TFF) of an inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plant must supply about 500,000 targets per day. The target is injected into the target chamber at a rate of 5–10 Hz and tracked precisely so the heavy ion driver beams can be directed to the target. The feasibility of developing successful fabrication and injection methodologies at the low cost required for energy production (about $0.25/target, approximately 104 times less than current costs) is a critical issue for inertial fusion energy. A significant program is underway to develop the high-volume methods to supply economical IFE targets. This article reviews the requirements for heavy ion driven IFE target fabrication and injection, and presents the current status of and results from the development program. For the first time, an entire pathway from beginning to end is outlined for fabrication of a high-gain, distributed radiator target. A significant development and scale-up program will be necessary to implement this pathway for mass production of IFE targets.

Keywords

FabricationFusionHeavy ionsInertialTargets
Type
Research Article
Information
Laser and Particle Beams , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , July 2002 , pp. 515 - 520
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press

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