Preliminary results from recent experiments and future roadmap to shock ignition of fusion targets

Abstract

Shock ignition (SI) is a new approach to Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) based on decoupling the compression and ignition phase. The last one relies on launching a strong shock through a high intensity laser spike (≤ 10 16 W/cm2) at the end of compression. In this paper, first we described an experiment performed using the PALS iodine laser to study laser-target coupling and laser-plasma interaction in an intensity regime relevant for SI. A first beam with wavelength λ = 1.33 μm and low intensity was used to create an extended preformed plasma, and a second one with λ = 0.44 μm to create a strong shock. Several diagnostics characterized the preformed plasma and the interaction of the main pulse. Pressure up to 90 Mbar was inferred. In the last paper of the paper, we discuss the relevant steps, which can be followed in order to approach the demonstration of SI on laser facilities like LMJ.