SBS PCM Technique Applied for Aiming at IFE Pellets: First Tests with Amplifiers and Harmonic Conversion

Abstract

The very first results obtained in experiments especially designed for verification of the stimulated Brillouin scattering phase conjugating mirror-based inertial fusion energy (IFE) approach as an alternative to the standard direct drive IFE scheme are reported. Inclusion of a higher harmonic conversion crystal directly into the laser beam trajectory, in combination with a dispersive wedge, confirmed the possibility of fully automatic self-navigation of laser drivers on the surface of injected pellets. Based on the expected very large numbers of individual laser drivers, a method for the realization of the final irradiation pulse temporal profile required by the IFE scheme was proposed in the form of a combination of suitably tailored (in energies and delays) neighboring beams. The conceptual design of one laser driver channel for an energy of pellet irradiation of similar to 1 kJ was proposed and numerically evaluated, providing guidance for the most important issues to be taken into consideration in practical designs.