Preparation and Liner Compression of Plasma From an Ultrahigh Speed Flow

Abstract

Preparation of the target plasma represents a critical issue in liner compression techniques to achieve fusion conditions. We consider the use of an ultrahigh speed plasma flow from a special coaxial-gun arrangement known as the plasma flow switch. Experiments have demonstrated that this arrangement can provide plasma flows with speeds in excess of 2000 km/s. Stagnation of such a plasma flow results in fully stripped aluminum plasma with electron temperatures of 30 keV. Substitution of deuterium or a deuterium-tritium mixture could provide target plasma at kilovolt temperatures within an imploding liner. Such temperatures suggest that, even if substantial heat loss occurred during liner compression, fusion-level temperatures would be possible. The concatenation of events to generate the ultrahigh speed flow, to direct it into the implosion chamber, and to arrange liner dynamics for effective compression demands numerical simulation, which is based on initial analytical estimates. Both types of calculation for exploring this concept are discussed.