阅读说明：本技术 一种激光聚变点火装置和聚变点火方法 (Laser fusion ignition device and fusion ignition method ) 是由 张�杰 张喆 王伟民 远晓辉 李玉同 于 2020-06-23 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了一种激光聚变点火装置,其包括：激光源；两个相同的相互分离的中空的压缩锥体,用于装填用于聚变的燃料,所述两个压缩锥体中的每一个的锥顶设置有孔,锥底开放,所述两个压缩锥体由金属制成,共轴且锥顶相对；以及点火组件,用于对从所述两个压缩锥体的所述孔中喷出并发生对撞的所述燃料进行加热,使其发生聚变点火；其中,所述激光源产生多路激光脉冲,分别从所述两个压缩锥体中的每一个的锥底朝向锥顶方向辐照所述燃料,以使所述燃料从所述两个压缩锥体的所述孔中相向喷出并发生对撞。该激光聚变点火装置可以降低实施聚变压缩和点火的激光的能量,并且能提高激光聚变点火的稳定性。还公开了一种激光聚变点火方法。(Disclosed is a laser fusion ignition device, including: a laser source; two identical mutually separated hollow compression cones for filling with fuel for fusion, the cone top of each of said two compression cones being provided with a hole and the cone bottom being open, said two compression cones being made of metal, coaxial and with the cone tops opposite; the ignition assembly is used for heating the fuel which is sprayed out of the holes of the two compression cones and collided so as to generate fusion ignition; the laser source generates multiple paths of laser pulses, and the fuel is irradiated from the cone bottom of each of the two compression cones to the cone top direction respectively, so that the fuel is ejected out of the holes of the two compression cones oppositely and collided. The laser fusion ignition device can reduce the energy of laser for implementing fusion compression and ignition, and can improve the stability of laser fusion ignition. A laser fusion ignition method is also disclosed.)

1. A laser fusion ignition device comprising:

a laser source;

two identical mutually separated hollow compression cones for filling with fuel for fusion, the cone top of each of said two compression cones being provided with a hole and the cone bottom being open, said two compression cones being made of metal, coaxial and with the cone tops opposite; and

the ignition assembly is used for heating the fuel which is sprayed out of the holes of the two compression cones and collided so as to generate fusion ignition;

the laser source generates multiple paths of laser pulses, and the fuel is irradiated from the cone bottom of each of the two compression cones to the cone top direction respectively, so that the fuel is ejected out of the holes of the two compression cones oppositely and collided.

2. The laser fusion ignition device of claim 1, wherein the two compression cones are made of gold, the plane projection angle is 90-120 degrees, the distance between the cone tops is 80-120 microns, the inner diameter of the hole is 80-120 microns, the fuel is a frozen fullerene-like deuterium-tritium fuel, the inner diameter is 400-2000 microns, and the thickness is 40-100 microns.

3. The laser convergency firing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the laser source generates a plurality of laser pulses including:

multiple compression laser pulses radiated in opposite directions in the two compression cones to near isentropic compress the fuel; and

multiple acceleration laser pulses irradiated on the near-isentropic compressed fuel to accelerate the ejection of the fuel from the orifice.

4. The laser fusion ignition device according to claim 3, wherein the pulse width of the compression laser pulse is 3 to 15 nanoseconds and the maximum power is 0.5 to 1 terawatt, and the pulse width of the acceleration laser pulse is 50 to 500 picoseconds and the maximum power is 70 to 90 terawatts.

5. The laser fusion ignition device of claim 1,

the plurality of ignition cones are made of metal, the conical tops of the plurality of ignition cones are closed, are opposite to each other and are close to the conical tops of the two compression cones, and the conical bottoms of the plurality of ignition cones are opened;

the laser pulses generated by the laser source further comprise a plurality of laser pulses for fusion ignition of the colliding fuel, which irradiate cone interiors from the cone bottoms of each of the plurality of ignition cones toward the cone tops, respectively, to generate electrons; and is

The ignition assembly further includes a magnetic field source that applies a magnetic field at and around the apex of the two compression cones that directs the electrons to the area where the colliding fuel is located.

6. A laser fusion ignition method comprising:

filling two identical hollow compression cones separated from each other with fuel for fusion, wherein the conical top of each of the two compression cones is provided with a hole, the conical bottom is open, the two compression cones are made of metal, are coaxial and have opposite conical tops;

respectively irradiating laser pulses to the fuel from the cone bottom of each of the two compression cones towards the cone top direction so as to enable the fuel to be ejected out of the holes of the two compression cones in opposite directions and collide with each other; and

and heating the fuel which is sprayed out of the holes of the two compression cones and collided so as to generate fusion ignition.

7. The laser fusion ignition method of claim 6, wherein the two compression cones are made of gold, the plane projection angle is 90-120 degrees, the distance between the cone tops is 80-120 microns, the inner diameter of the hole is 80-120 microns, the fuel is a frozen fullerene-like deuterium-tritium fuel, the inner diameter is 400-2000 microns, and the thickness is 40-100 microns.

8. The laser fusion ignition method of claim 6, wherein:

irradiating in the two compression cones in opposite directions using multiple compression laser pulses to perform near isentropic compression of the fuel; and

and irradiating the fuel after near isentropic compression by using multiple accelerating laser pulses to accelerate the ejection of the fuel from the hole.

9. The laser fusion ignition method of claim 8, wherein the pulse width of the compression laser pulse is 3-15 nsec and the maximum power is 0.5-1 taw, and the pulse width of the acceleration laser pulse is 50-500 picoseconds and the maximum power is 70-90 taw.

10. The laser fusion ignition method of claim 6, wherein fusion igniting the fuel in clash comprises:

irradiating the inside of a cone from the cone bottom of each of a plurality of mutually separated hollow ignition cones toward the cone top direction to generate electrons, respectively, using a plurality of laser pulses, the plurality of ignition cones being made of metal, the cone tops of the plurality of ignition cones being closed, opposed to each other, and close to the cone tops of the two compression cones, the cone bottoms of the plurality of ignition cones being open; and is

Applying a magnetic field at and around the tips of the two compression cones, directing the electrons to the area where the colliding fuel is located.

Technical Field

The application relates to the field of laser-driven inertial confinement fusion, in particular to a laser convergence ignition device and a laser convergence ignition method.

Background

The laser fusion process is highly complex due to highly complex intrinsic physical problems of laser plasma parametric instability, hydrodynamic instability, implosion mixing process, etc. in the laser fusion (ICF) process.

A laser fusion ignition device and a corresponding ignition method are expected, complexity of a laser fusion ignition process can be substantially reduced, and total requirements for laser energy in laser fusion compression and the laser fusion ignition process are reduced.

Disclosure of Invention

In one aspect, a laser fusion ignition device is disclosed, comprising a laser source; two identical mutually separated hollow compression cones for filling with fuel for fusion, the cone top of each of said two compression cones being provided with a hole and the cone bottom being open, said two compression cones being made of metal, coaxial and with the cone tops opposite; the ignition assembly is used for heating the fuel which is sprayed out of the holes of the two compression cones and collided so as to generate fusion ignition; wherein the laser source generates a plurality of paths of laser pulses, and the fuel is irradiated from the cone bottom of each of the two compression cones to the cone top direction respectively so as to enable the fuel to be ejected out of the holes of the two compression cones oppositely and collide with each other.

In some embodiments, the two compression cones are made of gold, the plane projection angle is 90-120 degrees, the distance between the cone tops is 80-120 microns, the inner diameter of the hole is 80-120 microns, the fuel is a frozen fullerene-shaped deuterium-tritium fuel, the inner diameter is 400-2000 microns, and the thickness is 40-100 microns.

In some embodiments, the multiple laser pulses generated by the laser source comprise: multiple compression laser pulses radiated in opposite directions in the two compression cones to near isentropic compress the fuel; and multiple accelerating laser pulses which are irradiated on the fuel after near isentropic compression to accelerate the fuel to be sprayed out of the hole.

In some embodiments, the pulse width of the compressed laser pulse is 3-15 nanoseconds and the maximum power is 0.5-1 terawatt, and the pulse width of the accelerated laser pulse is 50-500 picoseconds and the maximum power is 70-90 terawatts.

In some embodiments, the ignition assembly comprises a plurality of spaced apart hollow ignition cones made of metal, the apexes of the plurality of ignition cones being closed, opposed to each other and proximate to the apexes of the two compression cones, the bases of the plurality of ignition cones being open; the laser pulses generated by the laser source further comprise a plurality of laser pulses for fusion ignition of the colliding fuel, which irradiate cone interiors from the cone bottoms of each of the plurality of ignition cones toward the cone tops, respectively, to generate electrons; and the ignition assembly further comprises a magnetic field source that applies a magnetic field at and around the tops of the two compression cones that directs the electrons to an area where the colliding fuel is located

On the other hand, the laser polymerization ignition method is also disclosed, and comprises the following steps: filling two identical hollow compression cones separated from each other with fuel for fusion, wherein the conical top of each of the two compression cones is provided with a hole, the conical bottom is open, the two compression cones are made of metal, are coaxial and have opposite conical tops; respectively irradiating laser pulses to the fuel from the cone bottom of each of the two compression cones towards the cone top direction so as to enable the fuel to be ejected out of the holes of the two compression cones in opposite directions and collide with each other; and heating the fuel which is sprayed out of the holes of the two compression cones and collided so as to generate fusion ignition.

In some embodiments, the two compression cones are made of gold, the plane projection angle is 90-120 degrees, the distance between the cone tops is 80-120 microns, the inner diameter of the hole is 80-120 microns, the fuel is a frozen fullerene-shaped deuterium-tritium fuel, the inner diameter is 400-2000 microns, and the thickness is 40-100 microns.

In some embodiments, multiple compression laser pulses are directed in the two compression cones to near isentropic compress the fuel; and irradiating the fuel after near isentropic compression by using multiple accelerating laser pulses to accelerate the ejection of the fuel from the hole.

In some embodiments, the pulse width of the compressed laser pulse is 3-15 nanoseconds and the maximum power is 0.5-1 terawatt, and the pulse width of the accelerated laser pulse is 50-500 picoseconds and the maximum power is 70-90 terawatts.

In some embodiments, fusion igniting the fuel in clash comprises: irradiating the inside of a cone from the cone bottom of each of a plurality of mutually separated hollow ignition cones toward the cone top direction to generate electrons, respectively, using a plurality of laser pulses, the plurality of ignition cones being made of metal, the cone tops of the plurality of ignition cones being closed, opposed to each other, and close to the cone tops of the two compression cones, the cone bottoms of the plurality of ignition cones being open; and applying a magnetic field at and around the tips of the two compression cones directing the electrons to the area where the colliding fuel is located.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a laser fusion ignition device according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is an example of a laser fusion ignition method according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a waveform of a compressed laser pulse according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a waveform of an accelerated laser pulse according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a waveform of a heating laser pulse according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the magnetic fields generated by the ignition assembly according to one embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The application provides a laser fusion ignition device, which utilizes high-power laser to compress, ablate and accelerate fuel in a conical structure and combines the transverse pinch effect of the conical structure to realize three-dimensional spherical symmetry centripetal implosion of the fuel, thereby realizing laser fusion ignition. Wherein the fuel is a fuel capable of fusion, such as deuterium tritium.

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more apparent, the present application is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to constituent parts having substantially the same or similar structures and functions, and repeated description thereof will be omitted.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment 100 of the laser spotlight device of the present application along the cone axis SS' of two compression cones 110.

The laser fusion ignition device 100 includes two identical hollow compression cones 110 separated from each other for filling with fuel 130, where the position of the fuel 130 in fig. 1 is the initial position of the fuel, and the shape of the fuel may be determined according to actual conditions. The top of the cone of each compression cone 110 is provided with a hole 111, the bottom of the cone is open, the two compression cones are made of metal, are coaxial SS', and the tops of the cones are opposite.

A laser source (not shown in fig. 1) generates multiple laser pulses 140, which irradiate the fuel 130 from the bottom of each compression cone 110 toward the top of the cone, compress, burn, and impact the fuel 130, so that the fuel is ejected from the hole 111 at the top of the cone of each compression cone 110 and collides with each other. The ignition assembly 120 is adjacent to the tops of the two compression cones 110, and when the fuel 130 is ejected from the two holes 111 and collides, the ignition assembly 120 rapidly heats the fuel, causing fusion ignition.

The shape of the fuel 130 can be set according to practical application, for example, for deuterium-tritium fuel, the fuel can be in a hollow spherical shell shape in a frozen state, and the freezing temperature can be 2.5K absolute; wherein the position and shape of the ignition assembly 120 shown in fig. 1 are merely schematic and do not limit the position and shape of the ignition assembly 120, the ignition assembly 120 may comprise a plurality of components, for example, may comprise a plurality of ignition cones, for rapidly heating the fuel ejected from the hole 111 and colliding with the ignition assembly, and the ignition assembly may further comprise a magnetic field source for applying a magnetic field to the colliding fuel, thereby improving the heating efficiency and facilitating the fusion ignition process; in the whole process of laser fusion ignition, a laser source (not shown in fig. 1) can generate different laser pulses according to actual needs at different stages, for example, the waveform and the power can be different, the number of beams of the laser pulses can be different, the number of various laser pulses can be different, and the time delay among various laser pulses can be set and controlled through a circuit and a light path.

In some embodiments, the two compression cones 110 are made of a metal with a high atomic number and a large elastic modulus, preferably gold. The plane projection angle of each compression cone is 90-120 degrees (the corresponding spatial solid angle is 0.58-1 pi), the inner diameter of the hole 111 at the cone top is 80-120 micrometers, and the distance between the cone tops of the two compression cones 110 is 80-120 micrometers.

According to one embodiment, the fuel 130 is deuterium tritium, the freezing temperature is 2.5K absolute, the fuel is spherical shell, the inner diameter of the spherical shell is 400-2000 microns, and the thickness is 40-100 microns.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a laser fusion ignition method 200 according to one embodiment of the present application, which decomposes the laser fusion process into 4 steps: an isentropic compression step 210, an ablative impingement mixing acceleration step 220, a collisional preheating step 230, and a fusion ignition step 240.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic view of a combination of a laser spotlight device 300 and a laser spotlight method 200 according to an embodiment of the application.

The two compression cones 110 are coaxial SS'. In the near isentropic compression step 210, the laser source generates a compression laser pulse 141, which is irradiated on the fuel 130 from the cone bottom of each compression cone 110 toward the cone top direction, respectively, to perform near isentropic compression on the fuel 130. In the ablation impingement mixing acceleration step 220, the laser source generates acceleration laser pulses 142 that impinge on the fuel 130 from the cone base toward the cone apex of each compression cone 110, respectively, further compress the fuel 130, and are directed axially along the compression cone 110 by the ablation pressure such that the fuel 130 is accelerated longitudinally to a higher kinetic energy for ejection from the bore 111 of each compression cone 110. At this time, the collision preheating step 230 is performed, two clusters of the fuel 130 in the form of high-density plasma move oppositely to generate collision, and the density of the collided fuel is multiplied to reach the density required by fusion; thus, in a fusion ignition step 240, the ignition assembly 120 heats the collided fuel 130, so that the collided fuel 130 undergoes fusion ignition. In practice, the compressed laser pulses 141 and the accelerated laser pulses 142 may comprise multiple laser pulses, and each laser pulse may comprise a consecutive plurality of laser pulses. The ignition assembly 120 may be any feasible shape and may include multiple components.

Conventional laser fusion ignition is a highly complex process. The laser poly-transformation ignition device 100 or 500 simplifies spherical symmetric implosion by centripetal implosion along a conical structure (namely a compression cone), relaxes the symmetry requirement on the spherical symmetric implosion, and then effectively decomposes a complex physical process of centripetal implosion compression and synchronous heating ignition into four closely-connected decomposition physical processes of an isentropic compression process, an ablation impact mixing acceleration process (namely a high-density plasma acceleration process), a butt-collision preheating process, a fusion ignition process and the like, so that the energy of compression laser and ignition laser is greatly saved, the requirement on uniform irradiation of the compression laser is relieved, and the difficulty in realizing laser fusion ignition is substantially reduced. Each of the specific steps is described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments.

In the near isentropic compression step 210, the laser source generates multiple compression laser pulses, and the compression laser pulses are irradiated on the fuel 130 from the cone bottom of each compression cone 110 to the cone top thereof, so as to perform near isentropic compression on the fuel 130. Near isentropic compression of the fuel 130 in the compression cone 110 is achieved under the combined effect of longitudinal near isentropic ablative compression of multiple compression laser pulses and transverse pinching of the compression cone 110.

FIG. 4 is an example of a compressed laser pulse employed by one embodiment of the present application. The compressed laser pulse is a double-oblique-angle wave combined pulse, the pulse width is 3-15 nanoseconds, preferably 5-10 nanoseconds, and the highest power is 0.5-1 terawatt.

According to one embodiment, the laser source is superimposed on the fuel filled in each compression cone 110 in a dynamic focusing manner by using 16-32 multi-path compression laser pulses respectively, for example, the surface of a deuterium-tritium fuel spherical shell, and the fuel 130 (for example, deuterium-tritium fuel) is compressed to a high-density low-temperature plasma state in the compression cone 110 by adopting a near-isentropic compression manner. In the compression process, due to the fact that double-oblique-angle wave combined pulses are adopted to carry out near-isentropic compression on the deuterium-tritium plasma, a good compression effect can be obtained, and meanwhile, the low light intensity of the first oblique-angle wave in the near-isentropic compression stage can also inhibit the early development of parameter instability and the development of fluid instability of the laser plasma.

According to one embodiment, the waveform of the compressed laser pulses is beam smoothed.

In the ablation impact hybrid acceleration step 220, the laser source generates multiple acceleration laser pulses, which are respectively irradiated onto the fuel 130 from the cone bottom of each compression cone 110 to the cone top thereof at the same time, further compress the fuel 130 which is transformed into the high-density plasma form after near-isentropic compression, and guide the fuel 130 along the axial direction of the compression cone through the ablation pressure, so that the fuel 130 is longitudinally accelerated to higher kinetic energy and is ejected from the hole 111 of each compression cone 110.

FIG. 5 is a waveform of an accelerated laser pulse according to one embodiment of the present application. The pulse width of the accelerating laser pulse is 50-500 picoseconds, preferably 100 picoseconds, and the maximum power is 70-90 tewatts.

According to one embodiment, the laser source is overlapped and focused into each compressed gold cone 110 by using 4-8 multi-path accelerated laser pulses respectively, the fuel 130 is changed into a high-density plasma form after ablation impact compression, the fuel 130 is further compressed, the fuel density at the position of the hole 111 can reach 150g/cm3 at most, the fuel 130 is accelerated and ejected from each hole 111, and the ejection speed can reach 300 km/s.

According to one embodiment, after the near isentropic compression step 210 is finished, the accelerated laser pulses are transmitted after delaying from-100 ps to +100ps, i.e., the accelerated laser pulses are transmitted after delaying from-100 ps to +100ps at the tail of the multi-path compressed laser pulses.

After the fuel is sprayed from the two holes 111, the impinging preheating step 230 is performed. The two compression cones have opposite conical tops, two masses of fuel 130 which are ejected from the two holes 111 at high speed and have high kinetic energy and move oppositely in the form of high-density plasma collide between the two holes 111, and the density of the fuel is multiplied in the process of collision and deceleration to reach the density required by fusion. At this time, the maximum density of the fuel can reach 300g/cm 3. At the same time, the kinetic energy of the fuel before the collision is also converted into thermal energy by the collision, so that the fuel 130 in the form of high-density plasma is preheated to a temperature exceeding 1 kilo-electron volt (1 electron volt-11604.5K) after the collision, and the high-density state of the fuel core region can maintain an inertial confinement time of several hundred picoseconds or more.

In a fusion ignition step 240, the ignition assembly 120 heats the colliding fuel 130 for fusion ignition.

The ignition assembly 120 may include multiple components, which may be identical. The ignition assembly 120 can be any feasible device that can heat the colliding fuel 130 for fusion ignition.

According to one embodiment, the ignition assembly 120 is adjacent the bore 111 of the compression cone 110.

According to one embodiment, the ignition assembly 120 includes a plurality of spaced apart hollow ignition cones made of metal with closed conical tips, with the conical tips of each ignition cone facing each other adjacent the conical tips of the two compression cones 110. The base of these ignition cones is open.

According to one embodiment, the individual ignition cones are arranged around the center point of the two compression cones.

In a fusion ignition step 240, laser light generated by a laser source can be injected into the ignition cone. In some embodiments, the metal from which the firing cone is made is a high atomic number metal, such as gold.

According to one embodiment, the planar projection angle of each firing cone is 45-90 degrees and is made of gold.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an embodiment 600 of the laser fusion ignition apparatus of the present application, the ignition assembly 120 comprising 4 ignition cones 121, divided into two groups of two ignition cones, the two ignition cones of the same group being coaxial with the cones opposing each other. The axes PP ' and QQ ' of the two sets of ignition cones are in a plane perpendicular to the axes SS ' of the two compression cones, the three axes are perpendicular to each other and intersect at the same point, i.e. the center point of the two compression cones 110. Four firing cones 121 are symmetrically arranged around this center point with the cone apexes near this center point.

In the fusion ignition step 240, the laser source generates ignition laser pulses 143, which ignition laser pulses 143 can include multiple laser pulses, which can be multiple beams. The ignition laser pulses 143 are injected into the ignition cone 121 from the cone bottom of each ignition cone 121 toward the cone top direction, so that the ignition cone 121 releases the super-thermionic electrons with energy of the order of mega-electron volts, and the released super-thermionic electrons reach the vicinity of the cone top of the compression cone under the axial guidance of the ignition cone to heat the fuel 130 in the region, so that the fuel 130 in the high-density plasma state can be heated to the temperature required for fusion ignition, and fusion ignition can be performed.

According to one embodiment, the two firing cone apexes in each set of firing cones are spaced apart by 80-120 microns.

According to one embodiment, the ignition laser pulse has a width of 1-20 picoseconds and a maximum power of 1 kilowatt (1000 terawatts). Fig. 7 shows one embodiment of the ignition laser pulses of the present application.

According to one embodiment, the ignition laser pulse is delayed by about 100-400 picoseconds relative to the acceleration laser pulse.

The generated hyperthermo electrons have a large divergence angle determined by the generated physical mechanism, and are usually 45 to 60 degrees. Thus, it is not guaranteed that all of the epithermal electrons will reach the area where the fuel 130 will collide. The superthermionic electrons may be further guided using an external magnetic field source.

According to one embodiment, the ignition assembly 120 of the laser convergent ignition device 600 further comprises a magnetic field source (not shown in the figure) which applies a magnetic field with an intensity of 1-3 kilo tesla around the cone tops of the compression cone and the ignition cone while the laser source generates the ignition laser pulse, and further guides the super-thermionic electrons released from the ignition cone to the cone tops and surrounding areas of the two compression cones, i.e. the areas where the fuel 130 ejected from the two holes 111 collides, and heats the fuel 130 so that the temperature of the fuel can reach 5-10 kilo electron volts, thereby generating fusion ignition.

Fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the laser convergency ignition device 100 along the plane of the axes PP 'and QQ' of the 4 ignition cones of the laser convergency ignition device 600, the black arrowed line 180 being the direction of the magnetic field lines in the applied magnetic field, in this example the grey scale of the magnetic field representing the strength of the magnetic field and T the unit tesla of the magnetic field strength. In fig. 8 there are 4 ignition cones 121. The arrows 160 in the firing cone 121 indicate the direction of transport of the hyperthermo-electrons released by the firing cone 121 under the influence of the multiple firing laser pulses, further guided by the magnetic field. The circle 170 in the center of fig. 8 is the area where the high density plasma form of the fuel occurs after the collision.

As can be seen from fig. 8, under the action of the applied magnetic field, the divergence angle of the hyperthermo-electrons is reduced, and the hyperthermo-electrons can be transmitted in the direction of the magnetic field lines in a collimated manner, so that a large number of the hyperthermo-electrons will be guided to reach the area of the high density plasma form fuel in the center of the laser condensation ignition device 100.

Various embodiments of the present application, by separating the two physical processes of compression and heating, can control the development of instabilities in the compression process, and thus have unique advantages in laser-target coupling efficiency, target irradiation uniformity, beam target coupling, and overall target field configuration.

Secondly, compared with the traditional complete spherical symmetry centripetal implosion technology, the ablation compression design of the compression cone can realize higher irradiation light intensity under lower laser energy and reduce the requirement on total energy of compression laser on one hand, and can utilize the transverse pinch of the compression cone on the other hand, effectively improve the density of the fuel in the plasma form and favorably promote the fusion process.

Moreover, various embodiments of the present application, which decompose the heating of fuel in the form of a high density plasma into two processes, clash pre-heating and fusion ignition, are expected to reduce the energy requirements for picosecond ignition lasers.

In addition, compared with the traditional laser convergence ignition process, the ignition laser pulse is directly incident into a special ignition cone instead of a compression cone, so that the energy loss of the ignition laser pulse caused by fuel possibly remaining in the compression cone can be avoided, the generation of super-thermal electrons is facilitated, the collided fuel is heated more effectively, and the laser convergence ignition process is promoted. In addition, an external magnetic field is applied in the fusion ignition process, the super-thermal electrons released by the ignition cone are more intensively guided to the area where the collided fuel is located, and the heating efficiency of the fuel in the laser fusion ignition process can be improved.

While certain embodiments of the present application have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not limiting as to the scope of the application. Indeed, the laser polyfurnination apparatus and laser polyfurnination methods described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. In addition, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the laser spark ignition device and laser spark ignition method described herein may be made without departing from the scope of the present application.

Throughout the specification and claims, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the words "comprise", "comprising", and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense, that is, in a sense of "including but not limited to". Additionally, the words "herein," "above," "below," and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where the context permits, words in the above description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number respectively. With respect to the word "or" when referring to a list of two or more items, the word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list. In addition, the terms "first," "second," and the like are intended for distinguishing and not to emphasize order or importance.