Innovative ignition scheme for ICF—impact fast ignition

A new ignition scheme is proposed, in which the compressed DT main fuel is ignited by impact collision of another fraction of separately imploded DT fuel, which is accelerated in the hollow conical target to super high velocities of about (1–2) × 108 cm s−1. Its kinetic energy is directly converted into thermal energy corresponding to temperatures >5 keV on the collision with the main fuel, and this self-heated portion plays the role of ignitor. The ignitor shell is irradiated typically by nanosecond pulses at intensities well beyond 1015 W cm−2 at such a short laser wavelength as 0.25 µm to exert ablation pressures of 150–300 Mbar. A preliminary two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulation demonstrates substantial heating of 3–5 keV on the impact. Simple physics, potential for high gain designs and low cost—these are the crucial advantages of the present scheme.

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