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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Fusion Science and Technology
July 2025
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Hash Hashemian: Visionary leadership
As Dr. Hashem M. “Hash” Hashemian prepares to step into his term as President of the American Nuclear Society, he is clear that he wants to make the most of this unique moment.
A groundswell in public approval of nuclear is finding a home in growing governmental support that is backed by a tailwind of technological innovation. “Now is a good time to be in nuclear,” Hashemian said, as he explained the criticality of this moment and what he hoped to accomplish as president.
D. W. Hill, E. Castillo, K. C. Chen, S. E. Grant, A. L. Greenwood, J. L. Kaae, A. Nikroo, S. P. Paguio, C. Shearer, J. N. Smith, Jr., R. B. Stephens, D. A. Steinman, J. Wall
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 45 | Number 2 | March 2004 | Pages 113-116
Technical Paper | Target Fabrication | doi.org/10.13182/FST04-A436
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fast ignition is a novel scheme for achieving laser fusion. A class of these targets involves cone mounted CH shells. We have been fabricating such targets with shells with a wide variety of diameters and wall thicknesses for several years at General Atomics. In addition, recently such shells were needed for implosion experiments at Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) that for the first time were required to be gas retentive. Fabrication of these targets requires producing appropriate cones and shells, assembling the targets, and characterization of the assembled targets. The cones are produced using micromachining and plating techniques. The shells are fabricated using the depolymerizable mandrel technique followed by micromachining a hole for the cone. The cone and the shell then need to be assembled properly for gas retention and precisely in order to position the cone tip at the desired position within the shell. Both are critical for the fast ignition experiments. The presence of the cone in the shell creates new challenges in characterization of the assembled targets. Finally, for targets requiring a gas fill, the cone-shell assembly needs to be tested for gas retention and proper strength at the glue joint. This paper presents an overview of the developmental efforts and technical issues addressed during the fabrication of fast ignition targets.