Abstract: A system and method for driving an ICF target with a thermal wave comprising: a target assembly, located inside a hohlraum, comprising a drive region, shell region and central fuel region; wherein said hohlraum comprises one or more laser entrance apertures; wherein said one or more laser entrance apertures are sized according to the shape of said hohlraum and to prevent energy from escaping said hohlraum; a laser assembly to irradiate a laser pulse through said laser entrance apertures; inner walls of said hohlraum to reradiate said laser pulse as x-ray radiation; wherein said x-ray radiation penetrates the target assembly as a thermal wave before any significant hydrodynamic motion occurs within said target assembly during the time in which the laser assembly is active; wherein said drive region is evenly heated to a sufficient temperature to expand in an inward and outward direction; and wherein said shell region is launched into said fuel region to drive said ICF target.

Abstract: Various essential elements are required to accurately point one or more lasers toward an aimpoint within an Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) system while tracking a non-stationary ICF target. An ICF target may be dropped or propelled into an ICF target chamber. With the help of a plurality of steering mirrors, one or more lasers must accurately reach the desired aimpoint within the ICF target chamber and through the laser entrance holes in the surrounding hohlraum, so that the laser energy is accurately and uniformly applied to cause a target implosion. As the non-stationary ICF target accelerates and rotates within the ICF target chamber, one or more high-resolution, high-speed images are captured. The accurate and precise control of the various elements within the system is performed by a fast processor.

Abstract: In an inertial containment fusion (ICF) system which uses a KrF laser, it is beneficial to perform pulse compression of the laser output to produce a higher-power, higher-intensity laser pulse at the target. Such pulse compression involves counter-propagating laser pump and seed beams. A short-pulse seed beam is amplified as energy is extracted from a long-pulse pump beam. Because such energy extraction is invariably incomplete, a fraction of the pump energy will exit the compression cell in the same direction as the optics used to create the seed beam. The invention involves a gas consisting of a noble gas such as neon or argon which may be excited by an electron beam to enhance absorption. By proper choice of gas, cell length, electron-beam excitation, and time delay, the residual pump beam may be absorbed almost entirely with less than 0.01% transmitted laser energy through the invention.

Abstract: An Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) target may include a case comprising a plurality of beam channels; an outer shell disposed within the case; a propellant disposed between the case and the outer shell; an inner shell disposed within the outer shell; an outer fuel disposed between the outer shell and the inner shell; and an inner fuel disposed inside the inner shell.

Abstract: A system and method of enhancing implosion characteristics of an Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) target by tailoring the shell such that at the appropriate temperature, the shell allows the energy in the central region to escape. These ICF targets are more efficient than conventional targets in that they utilize the high-Z shell to contain radiation losses from the fusion fuel core. In some embodiments, the shell is designed such that at the appropriate temperature, the shell allows the core radiation to escape. As a result, there is less energy lost. Therefore, the temperature rise in the core is enhanced which aides in the ignition and burn efficiency of the fusion fuel. Further, the ICF targets as described have substantially reduced computational requirements for design and analysis making them more desirable than conventional ICF targets.

Abstract: Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) reactor chambers can be designed to contain an ICF target being imploded and capture the resulting energy output from the reaction. The exact amount of energy required to facilitate this implosion depends on the specific target design in use. An ICF target design and implosion mechanism which is more robust against non-uniformities, simpler to analyze and simpler to utilize would be advantageous in achieving practical energy generation. Ideally, the ICF target will be configured to achieve a uniform temperature and density profile when imploding with a variety of parameters not limited to the following: a central region having an areal density (?r) less than 1 g/cm2 at ignition and approximately 1% of the entire mass to be a material having a Z between 6 and 47 inclusive.

Abstract: A confinement chamber for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) may include a closed hohlraum and ICF target wherein the ICF target may comprise a central spherical fuel region, inner shell, outer fuel region, outer shell, and propellant region. A multitude of cylindrical beam channels may penetrate the entire thickness of the hohlraum. At the end of each cylindrical beam channel, where they exit the hohlraum, is a hemispherical cavity. Centered in the curvature of each cavity, and coaxial with each beam channel is a gold foam radiator. By layering materials or grading the density of a material in the propellant region of the closed hohlraum ICF target, the pressure profile on the outer shell may be tailored.

Abstract: A compact, simpler, more economical ICF target chamber and reactor design that maintains a low internal pressure, sub-atmospheric, and very small neutron flux on any pressure bearing vessel or steam generating mechanism. The present invention reduces radiant target emission towards the nearest wall of the hohlraum wall and/or sleeve material so that the radiation from target burn exits the end of the hohlraum through a wall material sufficiently thick to contain the target drive radiation, but becomes transparent to the target emitted radiation. The compact converter contains the energy released by the ICF target and converts it into usable heat to create steam. It also converts the excess neutrons, from the ICF target, into tritium. This is then collected with the unburnt fuel tritium.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a semiconductor ICF target is described. On an n-type silicon wafer a plurality of hard mask layers are etched to a desired via pattern. Then isotropically etching hemispherical cavities, lithographically patterning the hard mask layers, conformally depositing ablator/drive material(s) and shell layer material(s), inserting hollow silicon dioxide fuel spheres in the hemisphere cavities, thermally bonding a mating wafer with matching hemisphere cavities and etching in ethylene diamine-pryrocatechol-water mixture to selectively remove n-type silicon and liberate the spherical targets.

Abstract: A system and method for controllably varying the thickness of film deposition on a spherical or other non-flat substrate during high volume manufacturing is described. A gripping X-Y transfer stage rotates a substrate in-situ in a direction film deposition chamber. The transfer stage is driven at variable speeds to realize a desired distribution of film thickness variation around the surface of the substrate. Spatial variations in disposition thickness can be smoothly and continuously variable or abruptly changed.

Abstract: A compact, simpler, more economical ICF target chamber and reactor design that maintains a low internal pressure, sub-atmospheric, and very small neutron flux on any pressure bearing vessel or steam generating mechanism. The present invention reduces radiant target emission towards the nearest wall of the hohlraum wall and/or sleeve material so that the radiation from target burn exits the end of the hohlraum through a wall material sufficiently thick to contain the target drive radiation, but becomes transparent to the target emitted radiation. The compact converter contains the energy released by the ICF target and converts it into usable heat to create steam. It also converts the excess neutrons, from the ICF target, into tritium. This is then collected with the unburnt fuel tritium.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a semiconductor ICF target is described. On an n-type silicon wafer a plurality of hard mask layers are etched to a desired via pattern. Then isotropically etching hemispherical cavities, lithographically patterning the hard mask layers, conformally depositing ablator/drive material(s) and shell layer material(s), inserting hollow silicon dioxide fuel spheres in the hemisphere cavities, thermally bonding a mating wafer with matching hemisphere cavities and etching in ethylene diamine-pryrocatechol-water mixture to selectively remove n-type silicon and liberate the spherical targets.

Abstract: A confinement chamber for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) may include a closed hohlraum and ICF target wherein the ICF target may comprise a central spherical fuel region, inner shell, outer fuel region, outer shell, and propellant region. A multitude of cylindrical beam channels may penetrate the entire thickness of the hohlraum. At the end of each cylindrical beam channel, where they exit the hohlraum, is a hemispherical cavity. Centered in the curvature of each cavity, and coaxial with each beam channel is a gold foam radiator. By layering materials or grading the density of a material in the propellant region of the closed hohlraum ICF target, the pressure profile on the outer shell may be tailored.

Abstract: A set of optical elements for optical extraction composed of packed expanding optical cross sections to efficiently extract from a large gain region. The elements are rectangular shaped concave small expansion lenses matched to rectangular convex collimating lenses. Absorbing sheets divide an overall large volume up into smaller volumes to minimize losses due to amplified spontaneous emission. This arrangement has various applications, particularly in inertial confinement technology, where it may be used to extract energy from KrF laser media energized by electron beams. For certain applications, this regime of the gain medium may have zones at the absorbing sheets where this is no gain.

Abstract: Various configurations for ICF targets and techniques for their utilization are disclosed which may be simpler and more robust than conventional targets. In some embodiments, these targets may operate at a large areal density (?r), and/or may be imploded primarily by a single strong shock. In some embodiments, the entire volume of a region of fuel may be heated to a desired temperature at once, such that all the fuel mass may participate in the physical processes that may lead to fusion ignition. Targets of this type may be less sensitive to drive non-uniformity and to the temporal profile of driver energy delivery than conventional ICF targets.

Abstract: A system and method for integrating a direct compressor with a primary laser source and fast compressor while also reducing the number of mechanical elements and gas interfaces. A nonlinear scattering aperture combiner does not need to be optically multiplexed in order to drive a direct compressor stage, but by producing a large temporal compression ratio it will then pump the fast compressor. In order to accomplish this, a technique for transversely segmenting by color and/or polarization of the optical extraction beams of the direct compressor is utilized.

Abstract: A system and method for controllably varying the thickness of film deposition on a spherical or other non-flat substrate during high volume manufacturing is described. A gripping X-Y transfer stage rotates a substrate in-situ in a direction film deposition chamber. The transfer stage is driven at variable speeds to realize a desired distribution of film thickness variation around the surface of the substrate. Spatial variations in disposition thickness can be smoothly and continuously variable or abruptly changed.

Abstract: A method of using an ICF chamber may include causing a target in the ICF chamber to emit x-ray radiation; receiving the x-ray radiation through a plurality of holes in a wall of the ICF chamber; and absorbing the x-ray radiation in a gas contained in a plurality of tubes that are coupled to the plurality of holes.

Abstract: In Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) targets that ignite a fuel section having a low areal density at ignition, the fuel section tends to have a very non-uniform temperature profile. As the areal density decreases, the temperature profile becomes less uniform. This leads to non-equilibrium ignition and a non-uniform density profile. However, there is an optimal material and content for the fuel region for any given target design. One can smooth both the temperature and density profiles in the fuel of non-equilibrium ignition targets while still allowing runaway burn but preventing margin parameters such as fall-line from being affected greatly.

Abstract: In a system and method for favorably affecting the Rayleigh-Taylor growth on the interface between the fuel and shell regions of an ICF target. One may increase the ratio of the tritium content to the deuterium content of the fuel or decrease the ratio of the density of the shell to the density of the fuel region. By proper configuration of the ratio between the fuel and shell regions, the Rayleigh-Taylor growth may become more stabilized. This invention would make target manufacturing much simpler and less constrictive, which would in turn decrease the cost.