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This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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Smarter waste strategies: Helping deliver on the promise of advanced nuclear
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, a clear consensus emerged: Nuclear energy must be a cornerstone of the global clean energy transition. With electricity demand projected to soar as we decarbonize not just power but also industry, transport, and heat, the case for new nuclear is compelling. More than 20 countries committed to tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050. In the United States alone, the Department of Energy forecasts that the country’s current nuclear capacity could more than triple, adding 200 GW of new nuclear to the existing 95 GW by mid-century.
Louis A. Rosocha, Kenneth Bruce Riepi
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 11 | Number 3 | May 1987 | Pages 576-611
Technical Paper | KrF Laser | doi.org/10.13182/FST87-A25037
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Krypton-fluoride lasers have been shown to be promising candidates for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) drivers. These lasers can be effectively pumped with electrical discharges or energetic electron beams (e beams). With discharge pumping, the laser aperture is limited in size to a few centimetres (at atmospheric pressure) because of discharge instabilities that cause a homogeneous discharge to degenerate into arcs. Much larger aperture lasers can be pumped using relativistic e beams. At Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), we are constructing high-energy e-beam-driven KrF lasers with apertures as large as 1 m2 for the ICF program. In designing and building these lasers, a number of physics and engineering issues related to large area electron guns (e guns) must be addressed. Among these issues are the following: generation of the relativistic e beams, transport of the e beams into the laser gas, and design and construction of pulsed power devices for driving the e guns. Cold cathode e guns are found to be useful sources for driving these large volume KrF lasers. Presented are some brief background comments on cold-cathode sources. We will also discuss the cathode current emission mechanisms, basic beam transport considerations, pulsed power devices for powering these e guns, and measured e-gun performance. Particular emphasis is given to practical considerations related to the two main LANL KrF/ICF laser systems: the 10-kJ Aurora system and the 100-kJ power amplifier module design.
