ICF Drivers: A Comparison of Some New Entries and Old Standbys^*

* Work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract number W-7405-ENG-48.

ABSTRACT

There has been a great deal of progress in recent years on the development of solid state and KrF lasers, light ion diodes, and heavy ion accelerators for use as drivers in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) facilities. Two relatively new entries in the ICF driver derby are the free electron laser (FEL) and the compact torus (CT). The status and remaining technological challenges of each potential driver are described. The author discusses driver performance criteria for various reactor applications and then gives his informed opinion in a qualitative rating of the six drivers for each application.

Notes

* Work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract number W-7405-ENG-48.