Nuclear fusion driven by Coulomb explosions of deuterium clusters

Jason Zweiback; Roland A. Smith; Thomas E. Cowan; Greg Hays; J. Hartley; Richard H. Howell; C. A. Steinke; Kenneth B. Wharton; T. Ditmire

doi:10.1117/12.425651

23 April 2001 Nuclear fusion driven by Coulomb explosions of deuterium clusters

Jason Zweiback, Roland A. Smith, Thomas E. Cowan, Greg Hays, J. Hartley, Richard H. Howell, C. A. Steinke, Kenneth B. Wharton, T. Ditmire

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4424, ECLIM 2000: 26th European Conference on Laser Interaction with Matter; (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.425651
Event: 26th European Conference on Laser Interaction with Matter (ECLIM 2000), 2000, Prague, Czech Republic

Abstract

We have examined the interaction of deuterium clusters with high intensity, ultrafast laser radiation. Upon irradiation a hot plasma is created with a sufficient temperature to produce nuclear fusion. We have seen that larger clusters produce more fusion neutrons than small er clusters, consistent with a Coulomb explosion model. Fusion yields is currently limited by propagation effects. Using interferometric imaging we have examined the laser propagation and found that the laser energy is absorbed before it penetrates to the center of the gas jet.

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Jason Zweiback, Roland A. Smith, Thomas E. Cowan, Greg Hays, J. Hartley, Richard H. Howell, C. A. Steinke, Kenneth B. Wharton, and T. Ditmire "Nuclear fusion driven by Coulomb explosions of deuterium clusters", Proc. SPIE 4424, ECLIM 2000: 26th European Conference on Laser Interaction with Matter, (23 April 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.425651

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