Thermonuclear microdetonation macron accelerator for impact ignition

Abstract

It is proposed to replace the expensive ∼150 kJ petawatt laser as a means for the fast ignition of a highly compressed dense DT target by a small flyer plate propelled to high velocities by a thermonuclear microdetonation ignited at one end of a super-pinch. It appears that this can most efficiently be done with the previously proposed modification of the dense plasma focus device, adding a high voltage relativistic electron beam emitting diode inside the coaxial plasma focus discharge tube, igniting at the end of the plasma focus pinch column a thermonuclear detonation wave, propagating in the axial direction and accelerating at the end of the pinch a flyer plate to a velocity of 103 km s−1.