Boosting fast ignition heating through interaction between ultrahigh-contrast heating lasers and a cone-shaped target
In pursuing a carbon-neutral society, inertial fusion energy is a pivotal technology, offering a sustainable and virtually limitless energy source. Enhancing plasma heating efficiency is crucial for inertial fusion energy, following the ignition success using the laser-indirect-drive central-ignition approach at the U.S. National Ignition Facility. Fast ignition is a potentially high-efficiency approach among inertial confinement fusion methods. However, it remains significantly challenging due to the large divergence angle of relativistic electron beams (REBs) produced by high-intensity laser pulses. Here, we demonstrate the spontaneous collimation of REBs facilitated by an ultrahigh contrast of the heating laser in conjunction with a cone-shaped target. This collimation doubles the plasma heating efficiency compared to that achieved with the lower-contrast laser, as conducted with LFEX laser at Osaka University. This finding enables the use of a larger spot laser under ignition conditions, which is crucial for achieving the heating efficiency required for fusion ignition by reducing laser intensity and the mean kinetic energy of REBs. This collimation method significantly advances the field of inertial confinement fusion, elevating fast ignition to a practical level.
Authors
- Tomoyuki Johzaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5738-4661)
- Hideo Nagatomo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2087-1156)
- Y. Sentoku (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2093-7100)
- A. Morace (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8795-834X)
- Akifumi Yogo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3412-0070)
- Baojun Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7932-0303)
- Kazuki Matsuo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9838-7092)
- Hiroki Matsubara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0205-5622)
- Yasunobu Arikawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3142-3060)
- King Fai Farley Law (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5484-8870)
- A. Iwamoto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9217-8812)
- Ryunosuke Takizawa
- Zechen Lan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6644-2408)
- Shinsuke Fujioka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8406-1772)
- Y. Abe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3730-3630)
- M. Nakai
- Hiroki Morita (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6340-7420)
- Jinyuan Dun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2967-6691)
- Takumi Tsuido
- Yuga Karaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6791-2186)
- Chang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6314-5424)
- Hiroyuki Shiraga
- Ryosuke Kodama
Institutions
- Hiroshima University (JP)
- Utsunomiya University (JP)
- National Institute for Fusion Science (JP)
- National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Research
- Published
- 2025-04-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevresearch.7.023081
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.87
Funders
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- National Institute for Fusion Science