Berlin 2015 – scientific programme

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AKE: Arbeitskreis Energie

AKE 5: Nuclear Fusion Research

AKE 5.2: Invited Talk

Monday, March 16, 2015, 16:00–16:30, A 151

Laserfusion: status and concepts for new laser drivers and ignition physics — •Bjorn Manuel Hegelich — University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

Laser Fusion or more generally, Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) is one of the two big options for energy from controlled fusion in the laboratory and ultimately a power plant and its successful development would be a game changer with regards to the world*s energy challenges. Coordinated, large laser fusion / ICF programs are underway in several countries, including the USA, France, China, and Russia, and have encountered both progress and setbacks in the recent years. Several large dedicated fusion laser facilities have been constructed worldwide or are currently under construction, such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in the US, the Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) in France, the Shenguan-III and *IV lases in China as well as a 2.8MJ laser system in Russia. At the same time, laser technology is making rapid progress in many sub-fields, especially direct diode pumping of ceramic laser media and offers new possibilities for laser drivers for both research installations and power plant concepts. This talk will give an overview over the status and trajectory of the different laser fusion programs worldwide as well as highlight recent challenges, open questions and new concepts in both ignition physics and driver development.