EuropeEurope forfor InertialInertial ConfinementConfinement FusionFusion Technology Watch Workshop on IFE-KIT Madrid March 22, 2010

Jiri Ullschmied

Association EURATOM IPP.CR PALS Research Centre, a joint laboratory of the Institute of Physics and Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic www.pals.cas.cz Paper Layout

State of the art - where are we now on the path to fusion National Ignition Facility Indirect drive / direct drive European lasers, LMJ Coordinated European effort in the research Various ignition scenarios - EU KIT contributions SWOT Summary

State of the art - where are we now Steadily increasing progress in laser technology since 1960, lasers becoming the most dynamic field of physical research in the last decade. Megajoule and multi-PW lasers have become reality, laser beam focused intensity has been increased up to 1022 W/cm2 (Astra, UK). Last-generation high-power lasers - an unmatched tool for high-energy density physical research and potential fusion drivers. High-energy lasers worldwide Lasers on the path to Fusion

Max output energy of single beam systems (Nd-glass,

iodine, KrF) in the 1-10 kJ range, while EL > 1 MJ is needed for central ignition => multi-beam laser systems. Various fast ignition schemes are have been proposed, which should decrease the required energy by an order of magnitude.

History and future of IFE lasers

HiPER Three main tasks ƒ demonstrate ignition and burn ƒ demonstrate high energy ƒ develop technology for an IFE power plant

Ignition to be demonstrated at NIF (2010?) and LMJ lasers. The natural next step: HiPER. National Ignition Facility

NIF is a culmination of long line of US Nd-glass laser systems

Nova, OMEGA and NIF shot rates measured in shots/day. For ICF new DPSSL high-repetition rate laser technology is needed.

25kJ UV

Various NIF ignition NIF scenarios

1.8 MJ UV 192 beams NIF Status

Project started 1997 NIF chamber interior Design altered and budget revised 2000 Building commisioned 2008 April 13, 2009: DOE announces NIF completion

NIF building (May 2009)

.. and exterior

September 2009: Target experiments with all the 192 beams January 28, 2010 Ed Moses says: ”NIF has shown that it can consistently deliver the energy required to conduct ignition experiments later in this year”.

Possible CI scenarios: • Spherical Indirect Drive • Tetrahedral Indirect Drive • Direct drive Indirect-drive ICF

Spherical Hohlraum Cylindrical Hohlraum

NIF indirect drive configurations (by Steve Hahn, LLNL)

The Hohlraum scheme

Symmetrical compression simulation Direct-drive ICF

Direct irradiation of 2-mm-diameter capsules with a central volume of D-T gas, a frozen D-T solid-fuel layer, and an outer ablator layer. Expected gains ~ 3 - 8 times higher than for the indirect drive. Realization: Years 2012-13 NIF direct drive configuration (by Steve Hahn, LLNL) Target physics Different target structures and compositions to achieve optimum symmetric compression

LLNL target designs have been validated in cooperation with laser physicists in Great Britain and France and Germany. Le laser Megajoule

Similarly as NIF in the USA, LMJ will be a culmination of a long line of EU high-power lasers, with HiPER as the LULI VULCAN ASTERIX next step.

FR: ILP Institut Lasers et Plasma LULI 2000 PALS

ALISE (Activité Laser ImpulSionnel pour les Etudes) 200 J IR

LIL - Ligne d’Intégration VULCAN-PW PHELIX GSI Laser 9.5 kJ, UV RAL CLF

PETAL (PETavatt Aquitaine Laser) PW-LIL 30 kJ LMJ 240 beams, 2 MJ HiPER LMJ Status

Target parameters: 2 MJ UV Project: 1999 Demonstration of an engineering prototype (LIL) 2003 2006 Construction started: March 2003 The building commissioned 2008 240 beams performance ? The nominal characteristics of the Megajoule laser have been already LMJ chambre (2006) obtained on a LIL beam: 15 kJ per beam, 7.5 kJ in UV

LMJ building (Feb 2008)

LMJ chambre (2008) EU laser laboratories – long tradition of collaboration

LASERLAB-EUROPE 2 www.laserlab-europe.eu

UKAEA

IPPLM IPP-CZ IPP CEA KFKI IST ENEA

CIEMAT EURATOM-KIT http://www.ife-kit.eu Coordinated European effort in ICF research There is a strongly interconnected European community of researchers with vast experience in experimental, theoretical and numerical studies of high-power laser interactions with matter. They have long-time experience with running large user facilities, including lasers, targets chambers and diagnostics, and developed broad range of methods for diagnostics of laser- target interaction and of laser-produced plasmas. Many experiments have been proposed by European theorists and guided by the numerical simulations they performed.

In particular, researchers from 16 laboratories of 9 EU countries are carrying out high- quality collaborative research on IFE within the framework of EURATOM Keep-in-Touch Activities: CR IPP.CR + IOP ASCR PALS TW iodine laser France CEA-LULI, CELIA, LPGP & TRAMIS LULI100TW, LULI2000 Germany IPP-GSI & MPQ PHELIX, ATLAS, LWS, PFS UK As. UKAEA - RAL VULCAN, Astra-Gemini Hungary HAS KFKI-RMKI KrF laser Italy As. ENEA ABC laser Poland As. IPPLM Nd ps laser Portugal IST-GOLP TW laser Spain As. CIEMAT- DENIM, GIFI & ULPG

(where the participation of CR, Hungary and Poland is intentionally emphasized) Paths to sub-MJ ICF ignition

The aim of the various ignition scenarios suggested up to now is to decrease the required laser energy by separating the pellet compression from the ignition.

by M. Dunn, IFSA 2009

Fast-ignition scenarios ignition ion ignition impact ignition other alternative schemes Substantial contribution by IFE KIT partners Electron fast ignition In the original version of the electron fast-ignition scenario the drive laser beams compress the fuel attached to a tiny Au-cone, then a PW-laser beam generates high-energy at the cone tip, the electrons transport the energy to the compressed plasma core creating a hot spot, which ignites the fuel.

KIT 2007-9 Simulations: Studies of electron transport in a compressed fuel (UKAEA-RAL UK, CEA-LULI France). Generation and transport of fast electrons produced by laser interaction with a gold double cone target (CEA-CELIA France, CIEMAT-UPM Spain). Cone burn symmetry, electron source and energy deposition studies (CEA- CELIA, UKAEA-RAL, IST Portugal) Cone burn symmetry

Related KIT experiments: Laser energy conversion and dense plasma heating (RAL, IST + USA, Japan) Laser energy absorption at FI-relevant intensities (LULI, CELIA) Fast electron interaction in solid-density plasmas (IC, RAL, LULI, CELIA+ USA) Laser interaction with cone and reversed cone targets (PALS CR, IPPLM PL, DENIM Spain). Generation of mono-energetic electron beams (MPQ). Reversed cone Ion fast ignition

FI based on a beam of quasi-monoenergetic ions (protons or heavier ions) has the advantage of a more localized energy deposition, which minimizes the required total beam energy, bringing it close to the ≈10 kJ minimum required for fuel densities ~500 g/cm3 (J.C.Fernandez et al., Nucl.Fus. 2009). KIT 2007-9 Simulations: Simulations and analytical modelling of penetration of high intensity laser pulses in plasma due to ponderomotive acceleration of ions in the forward direction – CEA France + GSI Germany Transport and stopping of intense particle beams in plasmas - LPGP France Related KIT experiments: Isochoric heating of matter by laser-accelerated high-energy protons, heating of matter by 20-MeV laminar proton beam – LULI France Proton acceleration with Phelix laser – GSI Germany Ion acceleration by circularly polarized laser pulses - MPQ Garching Current records: 8% conversion efficiency of laser energy into protons >4 MeV (Roth et al, Vulcan PW) >1 % conversion efficiency to of laser energy to C ions (MPQ Garching) (a) Concept J.J. Honrubia et al., PoP 16 (2009) (b) Experiment A. Henig et al., PRL 103 (2009) Shock ignition SI = improved central ignition. The basic idea of SI is to ignite the target by means of a strong convergent shock launched in the target at the end of the compression phase and prior to the final stagnation of the fuel at the target centre. The shock could be produced by a final intense spike in the laser pulse. The SI concept is relatively immune to asymmetry issues, seems to reduce the Rayleigh-Taylor instability growth. For the HiPER scale: 250 ps window for spike launch, 160 TW, 60 kJ, 250- 280 km/ s shock velocity, fusion yield > 20 MJ (Ribeyre et al. PPCF 2009; G. Schurtz et al. IFSA 2009)

KIT 2007-9 Simulations: CHIC code 1-D and 2-D shock ignition simulations for HiPER irradiation geometry - CEA-CELIA 2-D Vlasov-Fokker-Planck-Landau model of Electron transport in SI pulse - CEA-CELIA, UKAEA Related KIT experiments: A strong experimental evidence that such a converging shock front indeed can be generated by short pulses - collaborative work of MPQ, BL-Imperial College and Ludwig-Maxm.Uni. Munich (J. Schreiber). Current SI-relevant experiments on shocks produced on planar targets by a pair of laser pulses at PALS by D. Batani, Universita di Milano- Bicocca, with theoretical support by G. Schurtz, CELIA. Impact ignition The fast ignition could be achieved by impact of an accelerated high-velocity macroparticle (small flyer plate, part of the pellet shell, plasma ball) onto a highly compressed DT target. A simple gain model (M. Murakami and H. Nagatomo, NIM 2005) indicated that a high gain of the order of 100 is possible at the total driver energy less than a few 100 kJ. An advantage of the IF concept is that, due to large length of acceleration, it permits to cumulate kinetic energy into projectile relatively slowly. A crucial milestone for the impact ignition is to demonstrate impact- compressed densities 100 g/cm3 in addition to high implosion velocities 108 cm/s. Laser macroparticle acceleration schemes • Ablative acceleration (the rocket effect, M. Murakami, 2005) • Reversed Acceleration Scheme (A. Kasperzuk, 2008) • Laser Induced Cavity Pressure Acceleration (J. Badziak, 2009) KIT experiments 2007-9, PALS, CR Experimental testing of the Reversed Acceleration Scheme (T. Pisarczyk, A. Kasperczuk , IPPLM Poland) 10-μm Al foil has been accelerated to 5x107 cm/s, 300-μm Al foil to 1.7x107 cm/s by 500-J laser pulse

Project and experimental testing of LICPA acceleration (J. Badziak, IPPLM Poland), 2009 LICP Accelerator for IFC Generation, interaction, and collimation of plasma jets An example of collaboration of KIT partners from “new” and “historical” EU countries Systematic studies of laser production of jet-like plasma structures for both ICF and astrophysical applications, performed at the PALS facility (IPP.CR) in cooperation with IPPLM, Poland, CTU in Prague and Messina University, Italy. Simulation and theoretical interpretation of experiments: CEA-CELIA France, UPM Madrid, Spain.

Generation of plasma jets by laser interaction with plane targets of different compositions and shapes.

Influence of target irradiation geometry and target material on the jet formation. Plasma jets formed on composite targets. A. Kasperczuk, T. Pisarczyk et al., PoP 2007, LPB 2009

Interaction of plasma jets with ambient media, shock generation in gas-puff targets Ph. Nicolaï et al., PoP 2008 A. Kasperczuk, T. Pisarczyk et al., LPB 2009

Guiding and collimation of plasma jets in cylindrical and conical channels J. Badziak, T. Pisarczyk et al., PoP 2009 SUMMARY S There is a strong, experienced and scientifically competent EU KIT community performing both theoretical and experimental high-quality ICF-relevant research. The level of collaboration of KIT partners in different countries is high. The community exploits a wide spectrum of technically mature laser facilities, including target chambers, diagnostics, and computation systems. W Although no one can foresee the evolution of the booming field of IFE research in the next 10 years fully, the spectrum of the current KIT activities is may be too broad. The KIT community should concentrate its forces on the most important issues of fusion- relevant physics. O “The potential of fusion to contribute as a major component of the future global energy system is sufficiently large that it should be pursued” (RCUK Report 2010). Collaborative IFE KIT activities and unique collection of complementary laser facilities increase the chance for Europe to deliver an IFE demonstrator facility (HiPER). T Decrease of funding, which could undermine the main goal. Fusion (both magnetic and inertial) ”needs continued funding for the long term, even when difficult financial choices are being made”. Otherwise: Loose of touch with USA and Japan, decrease of EU role in IFE research.