Laser-based inertial fusion energy system enabled by optical enhancement cavities and a direct-drive configuration reactor
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: We propose a novel and highly efficient laser inertial fusion energy reactor concept based on the shock ignition scheme, in which laser-plasma instabilities are mitigated through 500-beam, multicolor, slowly rotating polarization laser beam irradiation. The system employs coherent beam-combined fiber lasers injected into high-finesse optical enhancement cavities, which have already demonstrated energy enhancement factors approaching 60,000 and are expected to surpass 100,000. The 1.06 μ m laser output is frequency-tripled to 0.35 μ m ultraviolet light, resulting in an overall wall-plug-to-ultraviolet-light efficiency of approximately 10%. The reactor integrates a helium-gas-cooled lead-lithium blanket and a direct energy conversion for high-efficiency operation. It is designed for cryogenic deuterium-tritium targets in a direct drive scheme at 1–10 Hz, repetition rate, providing net electric output at 0.1–2.8 GW. This approach offers a compact, scalable, and credible pathway toward practical commercial laser fusion energy.
Source: Optics Express
DOI: 10.1364/oe.575181
Authors: Atsushi Sunahara, Gaurav Raj, Trevor Cohen, P. Morgan Pattison, Paul Rudy, Yuya Ohara, Seita Iizuka, Hiroaki Ohta, Shuji Nakamura
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,270
OpenAlex ID: W4415364920