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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.
George H. Miley, Xiaoling Yang
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 56 | Number 1 | July 2009 | Pages 395-400
IFE Target Design | Eighteenth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Part 1) | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A8933
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A radically new ICF target design is described that is designed to achieve ultra-high deuterium densities in implosions. This target is based on emerging technology for creating deuterium clusters with densities approaching 1024/cm3 at room temperature in a Pd structure. Our initial studies of such clusters have relied on stress formation of dislocation sites in Pd thin films to the number of cluster sites per unit volume remains low. Here a new method employing nano-structuring of the Pd significantly increases the site density over the target volume. This in turn suggests that a sizable region of the compressed target deuterium can reach densities an order of magnitude higher than possible with prior target designs. This can significantly increase the fusion reaction burn density, hence the target burn-up efficiency.