System for inertially compressing a fusion fuel pellet with temporally spaced x-ray pulses
Systems for enhancing preignition conditions of a fusion reaction are disclosed. A first system includes a target chamber for receiving a fusion fuel, and energy driving means oriented to direct plasma confinement structure onto to the fusion fuel to facilitate ignition of a controlled fusion reaction of said fusion fuel. A plurality of electron sources provides electron beams of a predetermined energy and one of fluence and quantity, directed onto and illuminating, a fusion fuel-derived plasma for controlling the ratio of ion temperature and electron temperature of the plasma. A second system comprises a central target chamber for receiving a spherical pellet of fusion target material and at least first and second pluralities of energy drivers oriented to supply temporally-staged X-ray pulses to the fusion target material in a 3-dimensionally symmetric manner about said pellet. A third system combines aspects of the first and second systems.
1. A method for applying temporally spaced X-ray pulses to inertial confinement fusion target material, comprising:
a) providing a central target chamber for receiving a spherical fusion fuel pellet of an inertial confinement fusion target material and at least first and second pluralities of energy drivers arranged in symmetrical pairs about the pellet and oriented to respectively apply first and second temporally-spaced groups of symmetrical pairs of X-ray pulses onto the fusion target material in a 3-dimensionally symmetric manner about the pellet;
b) applying a first group of X-ray pulses onto the fusion fuel pellet for the purpose of creating, compressing and heating a fusion fuel-derived plasma; and
c) applying a second group of X-ray pulses after an interval of time from when the first group of X-ray pulses is applied; the second group of X-ray pulses, arriving from different directions from the first group of X-ray pulses, for further compressing and heating of the fusion fuel-derived plasma.
2. The method of claim 1 , further including a step of fine tuning said interval in picosecond or finer increments via controlled input.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of energy drivers consists of six energy drivers located on three orthogonal axes, and the second plurality of energy drivers consists of eight energy drivers.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of applying the first and second groups of X-ray pulses are steps of an iterative optimization routine for optimizing said interval of time for use when the central target chamber receives a further spherical fusion fuel pellet of an inertial confinement fusion target material.