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Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
B.M. Van Wonterghem, P.J. Wegner, J.K. Lawson, J.M. Auerbach, M.A. Henesian, C.F. Barker, C.E. Thompson, C. C. Widmayer, J.A. Caird
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 642-647
Recent Results from Inertial and Magnetic Confinement Experiments | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A11963010
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The laser driver for the National Ignition Facility will be a departure from previous inertial confinement fusion laser architecture of a master-oscillator single-pass power-amplifier (MOPA) design. The laser will use multi-segment Nd: Glass amplifiers in a multipass cavity arrangement, which can be assembled into compact and cost-effective arrays to deliver the required multi-megajoule energy to target. A single beam physics prototype, the Beamlet, has been in operation for over two years and has demonstrated the feasibility of this architecture. We present a short review of Beamlet's performance and limitations based on beam quality both at its fundamental and frequency converted wavelengths of 1.053 and 0.351 μm.