Inertial Confinement Fusion Scheme Research Articles

Measurements of laser-plasma instabilities in double-cone ignition experiments relevant to the direct-drive conditions at Shenguang-II Upgrade laser facility

Abstract Experiments have been performed to investigate laser-plasma instabilities (LPIs) relevant to the direct-drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF) conditions at the Shenguang-II Upgrade (SG-II UP) laser facility during the double-cone ignition (DCI) experimental campaigns, with the overlapped laser intensity ranging from 6×1014 W/cm2 to 1.8×1015 W/cm2. An overall LPI scenario has been built from the collection and investigation of angularly distributed scattered light. Across broad ranges of laser and plasma parameters, relevant to the direct-drive ICF conditions, the dominance of the stimulated Raman side scattering (SRSS) was confirmed, and its coexistence with the two-plasmon decay (TPD) was also observed. Significant SRSS scattered light was observed across an extremely wide range of emission angles, concentrated at large angles, and demonstrated to be robust throughout the parameter space. Time-resolved spectral measurements show distinctly different SRSS behaviors along different angles and a slightly higher threshold compared to the TPD. The overall SRSS energy loss was measured, indicating a scattered light energy fraction of up to 6%. These results are of crucial importance for the precise assessment of the LPIs in the DCI as well as other laser directly driven ICF schemes.

Improved numerical simulation model for nuclear reaction rate calculations in high-speed plasma collisions

Beam–target reactions in fusion plasmas play an important role in both magnetic confinement fusion and inertial confinement fusion in the condition of low-density plasmas with high-velocity interactions. The traditional method for calculating beam–target reaction rate neglects the transport process of incident particles in inhomogeneous plasmas, leading to errors providing that the temperature and density in the transport path of incident particles vary obviously. An improved method considering the transport process is proposed in this paper to eliminate the deficiencies. Then the method is employed in high-speed plasma collision studies. When the initial plasma density and temperature are set to $0.5\,{\rm g}\,{\rm cm}^{-3}$ and 100 eV, it is found that the beam–target reaction rate calculated by the traditional method is almost identical to that by our method if the collision velocity is less than 600 km s $^{-1}$ . However, the traditional method is not suitable for study as the collision velocity gets higher, inducing obvious differences, which can reach 70 % at 1000 km s $^{-1}$ . The improved method will make large corrections to evaluate the importance of the non-negligible beam–target reaction for inertial confinement fusion schemes with large implosion velocity such as double-cone ignition and impact ignition, in which the high-speed plasmas collide with each other to realize plasma ignition.

Head-on collision of large-scale high density plasmas jets: A first-principle kinetic simulation approach

In the double-cone ignition (DCI) inertial confinement fusion (ICF) scheme, head-on collision of high density plasma jets is one of the most distinguished feature when compared with the traditional central ignition and fast ignition of ICF. However, the application of traditional hydrodynamic simulation methods becomes limited, due to serious plasma penetrations, mixing, and kinetic physics that might occur in the collision process. To overcome such limitations, we propose a new simulation method for large-scale high density plasmas. This method takes advantages of modern particle-in-cell simulation techniques and binary Monte Carlo collisions, including both long-range collective electromagnetic fields and short-range particle–particle interactions. Especially, in this method, the restrictions of simulation grid size and time step, which usually appear in a fully kinetic description, are eliminated. In addition, collisional coupling and state-dependent coefficients, which are usually approximately used with different forms in fluid descriptions, are also removed in this method. Energy and momentum exchanges among particles and species, such as thermal conductions and frictions, are modeled by “first principles” kinetic approaches. The correctness and robustness of the new simulation method are verified, by comparing with fully kinetic simulations at small scales and purely hydrodynamic simulations at large scale. Following the conceptual design of the DCI scheme, the colliding process of two plasma jets with initial density of 100 g/cc, initial thermal temperature of 65 eV, and counter-propagating velocity at 300 km/s is investigated using this new simulation method. Quantitative values, including density increment, increased plasma temperature, confinement time at stagnation, and conversion efficiency from the colliding kinetic energy to thermal energy, are obtained with a density increment of about three times, plasma temperature of 400 eV, confinement time at stagnation of 50 ps, and conversion efficiency of 85%. These values agree with the recent experimental measurements at a reasonable range.

Energy coupling in intense laser solid interactions: Material properties of gold

In the double-cone ignition inertial confinement fusion scheme, a high density deuterium–tritium (DT) fuel is rapidly heated with high-flux fast electrons, which are generated by short and intense laser pulses. A gold cone target is usually used to shorten the distance between the critical surface and the compressed high density DT core. The material properties of the solid gold may affect the generation and transport of fast electrons significantly, among which the effects of ionization and collision are the main concerns. In this work, the effects of ionization, collision, and blow-off plasma on the laser energy absorption rate are investigated using the LAPINS code: A three-stage model is adopted to explain the mechanism of fast electron generation and the change in the laser energy absorption rate. With the increase in the charge state of Au ions, the laser–plasma interaction transfers to the later stage, resulting in a decrease in the laser energy absorption rate. Collision has both beneficial and harmful effects. On the one hand, collision provides a thermal pressure, which makes it easier for electrons to escape into the potential well in front of the target and be accelerated in the second stage. On the other hand, collision increases stopping power and suppress electron recirculation within the target in the third stage. The vacuum sheath field behind the target enhances the electron circulation inside the target and, thus, improves the laser energy absorption; however, this effect will be suppressed when the blow-off plasma density behind the target increases or collision is considered.

Development of New Magnetron Sputter Deposition Processes for Laser Target Fabrication

Magnetron sputter deposition is an enabling technology for laser target fabrication. Solutions are readily available for the deposition of most sub-micron-thick elemental films on planar substrates. However, major challenges still remain for the development of robust deposition processes in regimes of ultrathick (over μm) coatings and nonplanar substrates. These challenging deposition regimes are directly relevant to laser target applications, including both sphero-cylindrical hohlraums and spherical ablators for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) targets. Understanding underlying physical mechanisms for a specific material system is crucial for process development, given the overall complexity of the deposition process, its nonlinear dependence on deposition parameters, and a very large process space, often precluding conventional process optimization approaches. Here, we describe our approach to developing new deposition processes and give practical advice with examples of new results from our ongoing studies of glassy boron carbide ceramics for next-generation ICF ablators and nonequilibrium gold-tantalum alloys for hohlraums for magnetized ICF schemes. Emphasis is given to two major challenges of ultrathick coatings related to achieving process stability and reducing residual stress.

Magnetization of high-density plasma with a jet velocity of hundreds of km/s.

High magnetic fields at the kilotesla scale have been experimentally generated and finding methods to fully embed such fields into high-density plasma is interesting for magnetically assisted a fast ignition scheme of inertial confinement fusion, laboratory astrophysics, and magnetically guided fast electron beam for broad applications. We investigate diffusion and embedment of an external magnetic field inwards a high-density plasma by analysis and simulation. By introducing the magnetic Péclet number, dimensional analysis indicates that the magnetizing process is sensitive to the jet velocity, temperature, and size of the plasma and gives a phenomenological scaling law of the magnetic field embedment time with an arbitrary jet velocity. The analytical results are verified by magnetic field simulation and applied in 100-g/cm^{3},100-μm-radius plasmas with a jet velocity of 0-400 km/s and a temperature of 50-500eV, typically adopted in experiments. Attributed to an effective electric field from frame transformation, the magnetic field embedment time can be significantly reduced by one order of magnitude when a jetting plasma is adopted with a velocity of hundreds of kilometers per second, e.g., from 5.5ns in a static plasma to a 0.5ns timescale in a jetting plasma of 200 km/s. The promoted embedment process favors for various applications mentioned above.

Recent progress for different inertial confinement fusion schemes: a systematical review

The pursuing of controlled fusion energy has been continuously developed for more than half a century. Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is one of two major approaches to actualize controlled fusion. Here, we systematically reviewed several typical forms of ICF on the part of their physical principles and encountering technical barriers currently. Besides, some great simulation results of the implosion for each ICF scheme are shown, and the simulation algorithm of Vlasov-Fokker-Planck (VFP) is introduced. In addition, several instabilities in the fusion process are analyzed. These results offer a guideline for future ICF research.

Excitation of electrostatic standing wave in the superposition of two counter propagating relativistic whistler waves

The problem of standing wave formation by superposing two counter-propagating whistler waves in an overdense plasma, studied recently by Sano et al (2019 Phys. Rev. E 100, 053 205 and 2020 Phys. Rev. E 101, 013 206), has been revisited in the relativistic limit. A detailed theory along with simulation has been performed to study the standing wave formation in the interaction of two counter propagating relativistically intense whistler waves. The relativistic theory explains such interaction process more precisely and predicts correct field amplitudes of the standing wave for a much wider range of physical parameters of the problem as compared to its non-relativistic counterpart. The analytical results are compared with 1-D Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulation results, performed using OSIRIS 4.0. The results are of relevance to ion heating and fast ignition scheme of inertial confinement fusion.

Pump-depletion dynamics and saturation of stimulated Brillouin scattering in shock ignition relevant experiments.

As an alternative inertial confinement fusion scheme, shock ignition requires a strong converging shock driven by a high-intensity laser pulse to ignite a precompressed fusion capsule. Understanding nonlinear laser-plasma instabilities is crucial to assess and improve the laser-shock energy coupling. Recent experiments conducted on the OMEGA EP laser facility have demonstrated that such instabilities can ∼100% deplete the first 0.5ns of the high-intensity laser. Analyses of the observed laser-generated blast wave suggest that this pump-depletion starts at ∼0.02 critical density and progresses to 0.1-0.2 critical density, which is also confirmed by the time-resolved stimulated Raman backscattering spectra. The pump-depletion dynamics can be explained by the breaking of ion-acoustic waves in stimulated Brillouin scattering. Such pump depletion would inhibit the collisional laser energy absorption but may benefit the generation of hot electrons with moderate temperatures for electron shock ignition [Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 195001 (2017)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.119.195001].

Electron acceleration at oblique angles via stimulated Raman scattering at laser irradiance >10^{16}Wcm^{-2}μm^{2}.

The generation of hot, directional electrons via laser-driven stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is a topic of great importance in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) schemes. Little recent research has been dedicated to this process at high laser intensity, in which back, side, and forward scatter simultaneously occur in high energy density plasmas, of relevance to, for example, shock ignition ICF. We present an experimental and particle-in-cell (PIC) investigation of hot electron production from SRS in the forward and near-forward directions from a single speckle laser of wavelength λ_{0}=1.053μm, peak laser intensities in the range I_{0}=0.2-1.0×10^{17}Wcm^{-2} and target electron densities between n_{e}=0.3-1.6%n_{c}, where n_{c} is the plasma critical density. As the intensity and density are increased, the hot electron spectrum changes from a sharp cutoff to an extended spectrum with a slope temperature T=34±1keV and maximum measured energy of 350 keV experimentally. Multidimensional PIC simulations indicate that the high energy electrons are primarily generated from SRS-driven electron plasma wave phase fronts with k vectors angled ∼50^{∘} with respect to the laser axis. These results are consistent with analytical arguments that the spatial gain is maximized at an angle which balances the tendency for the growth rate to be larger for larger scattered light wave angles until the kinetic damping of the plasma wave becomes important. The efficiency of generated high energy electrons drops significantly with a reduction in either laser intensity or target electron density, which is a result of the rapid drop in growth rate of Raman scattering at angles in the forward direction.

Inflationary stimulated Raman scattering in shock-ignition plasmas

In the shock-ignition inertial confinement fusion scheme, high-intensity lasers propagate through an inhomogeneous coronal plasma, driving a shock designed to cause fuel ignition. During the high-intensity ignitor laser pulse, in the long scale length coronal plasma, back-scattered stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is likely to be in the kinetic regime. In this work, we use one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations to show that there is a non-linear frequency shift caused by kinetic effects, resulting in the growth of SRS in an inhomogeneous plasma far exceeding the predictions of fluid theory, the so-called inflationary SRS or iSRS. We find that iSRS occurs over a wide range of density scale lengths relevant to shock-ignition and other directly-driven inertial confinement fusion schemes. The presence of iSRS in shock-ignition plasmas has implications for the theoretical gains from shock-ignition inertial confinement fusion. Here, we quantify the intensity threshold for the onset of iSRS for shock-ignition relevant parameters.

Spatially and temporally discontinuous two-plasmon decay with relatively low laser irradiance

The direct-drive inertial confinement fusion scheme with a gradually increasing intensity nanosecond pulse needs to avoid fuel preheating during the low-temperature implosion stage, in which the occurrence and characteristics of two-plasmon decay with low laser intensity is worthy of attention as it produces hot electrons that preheat the fuel. In this paper, we present experimental results regarding the occurrence and characteristics of two-plasmon decay inferred from the observation of three-halves harmonic light under an irradiance of ∼1 × 1013 W cm−2, with which three plasma density scale-lengths were obtained using different laser pulses. Spatial and temporal discontinuities of the laterally emitting three-halves harmonic light in both the parallel and the perpendicular directions with respect to the target surface were observed, which are interpreted by laser filamentation analyses based on plasma parameters calculated from the measured spectra and interferograms, and supported by radiation hydrodynamics and particle-in-cell simulations. From the perspective of filamentation, suppression methods of the observed phenomena under such conditions are discussed.

The role of hot electrons on ultrahigh pressure generation relevant to shock ignition conditions

On shock ignition (SI) scheme of inertial confinement fusion (ICF), a spherical shell target is compressed by relatively low intensity laser pulse irradiation, and hot spot is ignited by converging shock waves by high intensity laser pulse called “spike pulse”. The SI scheme is considered as a promising scheme to reduce the required drive laser energy for ignition. On the SI scheme, the strong shock by the spike pulse should be over 300 Mbar (=30 TPa). The key physics to produce such ultrahigh pressure is the contribution of hot electrons generated by parametric instabilities. The hot electron generation, transport, and their effects on shock wave parameters in various experimental conditions were explored. This paper focuses on experimental parameter of 0.527 μm (2ω) irradiation as spike pulse with/without pre-pulse irradiation conditions, and the experimental data was compared with one-dimensional hydrodynamic simulation. Experiments with pre-pulse irradiation that pre-compresses a target before the main pulse with producing more hot electrons generates a strong shock and hot electrons lead to an enhanced shock velocity. This fact indicates that the hot electron absorption per unit length in the target is increased leading to an enhanced shock strength.

Anomalous absorption due to development of return current instability

We examine the anomalous absorption effect due to ion–acoustic turbulence (IAT) driven by the return current instability in a plasma corona in relation to relevant conditions of the direct-drive inertial confinement fusion scheme of the Russian megajoule-energy level laser facility. We find that for the plasma corona created by a carbon ablator, the IAT contributes not more than 10% to absorption for intensities ≳ 7 × 1014 W/cm2 at second-harmonic radiation.

Characterization of an imploding cylindrical plasma for electron transport studies using x-ray emission spectroscopy

We report on the characterization of the conditions of an imploding cylindrical plasma by time-resolved x-ray emission spectroscopy. Knowledge about this implosion platform can be applied to studies of particle transport for inertial confinement fusion schemes or to astrophysical plasmas. A cylindrical Cl-doped CH foam within a tube of solid CH was irradiated by 36 beams (Itotal ∼ 5 × 1014 W/cm2, 1.5 ns square pulse, and Etotal ∼ 16.2 kJ) of the OMEGA-60 laser to radially compress the CH toward the axis. The analysis of the time-resolved spectra showed that the compression can be described by four distinct phases, each presenting different plasma conditions. First the ablation of the cylinder is dominant; second, the foam is heated and induces a significant jump in emission intensities; third, the temperature and density of the foam reaches a maximum; and finally, the plasma expands. Ranges for the plasma temperature were inferred with the atomic physics code SCRAM (Spectroscopic Collisional-Radiative Atomic Model) and the experimental data have been compared to hydrodynamic simulations performed with the 2D code FLASH, which showed a similar implosion dynamic over time.

Direct-drive double-shell implosion: A platform for burning-plasma physics studies.

Double-shell ignition designs have been studied with the indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF) scheme in both simulations and experiments in which the inner-shell kinetic energy was limited to ∼10-15kJ, even driven by megajoule-class lasers such as the National Ignition Facility. Since direct-drive ICF can couple more energy to the imploding shells, we have performed a detailed study on direct-drive double-shell (D^{3}S) implosions with state-of-the-art physics models implemented in radiation-hydrodynamic codes (lilac and draco), including nonlocal thermal transport, cross-beam energy transfer (CBET), and first-principles-based material properties. To mitigate classical unstable interfaces, we have proposed the use of a tungsten-beryllium-mixed inner shell with gradient-density layers that can be made by magnetron sputtering. In our D^{3}S designs, a 70-μm-thick beryllium outer shell is driven symmetrically by a high-adiabat (α≥10), 1.9-MJ laser pulse to a peak velocity of ∼240 km/s. Upon spherical impact, the outer shell transfers ∼30-40 kJ of kinetic energy to the inner shell filled with deuterium-tritium gas or liquid, giving neutron-yield energies of ∼6 MJ in one-dimensional simulations. Two-dimensional high-mode draco simulations indicated that such high-adiabat D^{3}S implosions are not susceptible to laser imprint, but the long-wavelength perturbations from the laser port configuration along with CBET can be detrimental to the target performance. Nevertheless, neutron yields of ∼0.3-1.0-MJ energies can still be obtained from our high-mode draco simulations. The robust α-particle bootstrap is readily reached, which could provide a viable platform for burning-plasma physics studies. Once CBET mitigation and/or more laser energy becomes available, we anticipate that break-even or moderate energy gain might be feasible with the proposed D^{3}S scheme.

Potential Distribution in a Strongly Coupled Dusty Magnetoplasma

The potential distribution around a test charge particle is studied in a strongly coupled dusty magnetoplasma. Special emphasis is given to study the combined influence of the strong interaction between the charged dust grains and the external magnetic field on the potential distribution. It is found that these effects significantly modify the potential profile. For example, an increase in the coupling parameter increases the potential amplitude and then can change the polarity of the response potential. The present results may be useful in laboratories as applications of wave–particle interactions [i.e., inertial confinement fusion (ICF) scheme, particle acceleration, and heavy-ion pumped X-ray lasers], as well as in space plasmas (i.e., dust coagulation in space).

Modeling the solid-to-plasma transition for laser imprinting in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion.

Laser imprinting possesses a potential danger for low-adiabat and high-convergence implosions in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Within certain direct-drive ICF schemes, a laser picket (prepulse) is used to condition the target to increase the interaction efficiency with the main pulse. Whereas initially the target is in a solid state (of ablators such as polystyrene) with specific electronic and optical properties, the current state-of-the-art hydrocodes assume an initial plasma state, which ignores the detailed plasma formation process. To overcome this strong assumption, a model describing the solid-to-plasma transition, eventually aiming at being implemented in hydrocodes, is developed. It describes the evolution of main physical quantities of interest, including the free electron density, collision frequency, absorbed laser energy, temperatures, and pressure, during the first stage of the laser-matter interaction. The results show that a time about 100 ps is required for the matter to undergo the phase transition, the initial solid state thus having a notable impact on the subsequent plasma dynamics. The nonlinear absorption processes (associated to the solid state) are also shown to have an influence on the thermodynamic quantities after the phase transition, leading to target deformations depending on the initial solid state. The negative consequences for the ICF schemes consist in shearing of the ablator and possibly preliminary heating of the deuterium-tritium fuel.

Studies of laser-plasma interaction physics with low-density targets for direct-drive inertial confinement schemes

Comprehensive understanding and possible control of parametric instabilities in the context of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) remains a challenging task. The details of the absorption processes and the detrimental effects of hot electrons on the implosion process require as much effort on the experimental side as on the theoretical and simulation side. This paper describes a proposal for experimental studies on nonlinear interaction of intense laser pulses with a high-temperature plasma under conditions corresponding to direct-drive ICF schemes. We propose to develop a platform for laser-plasma interaction studies based on foam targets. Parametric instabilities are sensitive to the bulk plasma temperature and the density scale length. Foam targets are sufficiently flexible to allow control of these parameters. However, investigations conducted on small laser facilities cannot be extrapolated in a reliable way to real fusion conditions. It is therefore necessary to perform experiments at a multi-kilojoule energy level on medium-scale facilities such as OMEGA or SG-III. An example of two-plasmon decay instability excited in the interaction of two laser beams is considered.

Collective absorption of laser radiation in plasma at sub-relativistic intensities

Processes of laser energy absorption and electron heating in an expanding plasma in the range of irradiances $I\unicode[STIX]{x1D706}^{2}=10^{15}{-}10^{16}~\text{W}\,\cdot \,\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}^{2}/\text{cm}^{2}$ are studied with the aid of kinetic simulations. The results show a strong reflection due to stimulated Brillouin scattering and a significant collisionless absorption related to stimulated Raman scattering near and below the quarter critical density. Also presented are parametric decay instability and resonant excitation of plasma waves near the critical density. All these processes result in the excitation of high-amplitude electron plasma waves and electron acceleration. The spectrum of scattered radiation is significantly modified by secondary parametric processes, which provide information on the spatial localization of nonlinear absorption and hot electron characteristics. The considered domain of laser and plasma parameters is relevant for the shock ignition scheme of inertial confinement fusion.