Illumination stability for high-repetition-rate laser facilities in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion

A. Schiavi^a, S. Atzeni and A. Marocchino

Dipartimento SBAI, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” and CNISM - via A. Scarpa 14, 00161, Roma, Italy, EU

^a angelo.schiavi@uniroma1.it

Received: 4 February 2011
Accepted: 1 April 2011

Abstract

The illumination uniformity of a spherical target is of fundamental importance in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion. The laser intensity asymmetry is studied here using numerical calculations, taking into account target positioning errors and laser system shot-to-shot fluctuations. The optimisation of a laser beam configuration is outlined on the basis of a statistical analysis of the illumination uniformity using three independent selection criteria. The particular case of a 48-beam laser facility is discussed in detail. It is found that the fluctuation of the illumination asymmetry is a key parameter for assessing the stability of operation in high-repetition-rate mode. Moreover the target positioning error arising from the injection system could be the dominant source of illumination asymmetry in a fusion reactor.