NIKE KrF Laser Facility.
Abstract
For the past four years, the Naval Research Laboratory has been developing a new krypton fluoride laser called Nike as our next step in the evaluation of direct-drive laser fusion. The fundamental near-term justification for KrF is its potential to produce a very smooth laser profile using the optical smoothing technique called ISI (induced spatial incoherence). For longer-term power plant applications, KrF also appears to be the most attractive laser option. In general, any laser nonuniformity tends to degrade the performance of a high gain pellet design, because the laser nonuniformity seeds the Rayleigh-Taylor hydrodynamic instability. This instability can be ameliorated by preheating the fuel, but the preheat then reduces the thermonuclear yield. To obtain the highest possible yield, one generally wants the least possible laser nonuniformity. The first phase of Nike is now operating, and its performance has exceeded our expectations. (MM)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA297263
Entities
People
- Jill Dahlberg
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory