Laser ICF, indirect drive
Laser energy is converted to X-rays inside a small gold or uranium can (a hohlraum), and the X-rays drive the capsule. The NIF configuration. Only about a tenth of the laser energy ends up absorbed by the capsule, most of the rest heating the hohlraum wall, which is the main efficiency cost indirect drive carries relative to direct drive.
In the record: 2 companies, 1 laboratory or programme, 1 device and 0 reactor designs.
Not yet in the record for this approach: reactor designs.
Related approaches
Broader: Inertial confinement
Companies 2
Laboratories and programmes 1
Devices 1
Operating devices first, then those being built or planned, then those shut down, suspended or cancelled.
- National Ignition Facility Operating Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory · US · 31 measurements
Measurements
1 device using this approach carries 31 measurements: 28 claimed, 3 achieved. The values, each with its status and source, are on the benchmark and on each device's page. Most measured: National Ignition Facility (31).
Guides
- Fusion approaches compared Every family of fusion machine, how each holds its fuel, the best result this dataset holds for it, its main unsolved problem and the organisations pursuing it.
Laser ICF, indirect drive in the glossary · Fusion overview · All approaches