The National Ignition Facility: status and plans for laser fusion and high-energy-density experimental studies
The National Ignition Facility: status and plans for laser fusion and high-energy-density experimental studies
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DOI：
10.1109/fusion.2002.1027741
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发表时间：
2001-11
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
E. Moses
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
E. Moses
目前正在加州大学劳伦斯·利弗莫尔国家实验室建设的国家点火设施(NIF)是一个耗资22.5亿美元的体育场大小的设施，其中包括一个192束、1.8兆焦耳、500太瓦、351纳米的激光系统。NIF正在由美国国家核安全局建造，建成后将成为世界上最大的激光系统，为研究惯性约束聚变和极端能量密度和压强的物理提供一个国家中心。在NIF中，多达192束高能激光将把小型聚变目标压缩到点燃和燃烧的条件下，释放出比启动聚变反应所需更多的能量。NIF实验将允许研究在接近1亿K和1000亿倍大气压的温度下的物理过程。这些条件自然只存在于恒星内部和核武器爆炸中。在设计世界上能量最高的激光系统的过程中，已经实现了一些重大的技术突破。此外，还在研究在NIF上开发适用于高功率应用的更短脉冲能力。我们讨论了使NIF成为可能的技术挑战和解决方案，以及对NIF设计的改进，可能导致输出功率水平的提高。
The National Ignition Facility (NIF), currently under construction at the University of California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a $2.25B stadium-sized facility containing a 192-beam, 1.8-Megajoule, 500-Terawatt, 351-nm laser system. NIF is being built by the National Nuclear Security Agency and when completed will be the world's largest laser system, providing a national center to study inertial confinement fusion and the physics of extreme energy densities and pressures. In NIF up to 192 energetic laser beams will compress small fusion targets to conditions where they will ignite and burn, liberating more energy than is required to initiate the fusion reactions. NIF experiments will allow the study of physical processes at temperatures approaching 100 million K and 100 billion times atmospheric pressure. These conditions exist naturally only in the interior of stars and in nuclear weapons explosions. In the course of designing the world's most energetic laser system, a number of significant technology breakthroughs have been achieved. Research is also underway to develop a shorter pulse capability on NIF for high power applications. We discuss the technology challenges and solutions that have made NIF possible along with enhancements to NIF's design that could lead to exawatt power levels.