An IFE target injection and tracking experiment

The Target Factory at an inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plant must produce {approximately}500,000 targets each day, fill them with deuterium-tritium fuel, cool them to cryogenic temperature, and layer the solid fuel inside the capsule. The targets must then be accurately delivered to the high-temperature target chamber at a rate of {approximately}6 Hz without mechanical or thermal damage. Prediction of target location at shot time must be very accurate. Design studies predict that this is achievable but will require development. Preliminary experiments at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have successfully demonstrated that the accuracy requirements for indirect drive target injection can be met, at least for injection into a vacuum chamber at room temperature with low repetition rate. As part of the US IFE program, General Atomics is constructing an experimental target injection and tracking system to develop the scientific understanding necessary for injection of cryogenic IFE targets into a high-temperature reaction chamber.