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New scheme to produce aneutronic fusion reactions by laser-accelerated ions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2015

C. Baccou ,
S. Depierreux ,
V. Yahia ,
C. Neuville ,
C. Goyon ,
R. De Angelis ,
F. Consoli ,
J.E. Ducret ,
G. Boutoux  and
J. Rafelski
...Show all authors
C. Baccou*
Affiliation:
LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, Palaiseau, France
S. Depierreux
Affiliation:
CEA, DAM, DIF, Arpajon, France
V. Yahia
Affiliation:
LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, Palaiseau, France
C. Neuville
Affiliation:
CEA, DAM, DIF, Arpajon, France
C. Goyon
Affiliation:
LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, Palaiseau, France CEA, DAM, DIF, Arpajon, France
R. De Angelis
Affiliation:
Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, Frascati, Rome, Italy
F. Consoli
Affiliation:
Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, Frascati, Rome, Italy
J.E. Ducret
Affiliation:
CELIA (Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications), UMR 5107, Université Bordeaux, CNRS, CEA, Talence, France
G. Boutoux
Affiliation:
CELIA (Centre Lasers Intenses et Applications), UMR 5107, Université Bordeaux, CNRS, CEA, Talence, France
J. Rafelski
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
C. Labaune
Affiliation:
LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, Palaiseau, France
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: C. Baccou, LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, 91128 Palaiseau, France E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The development of high-intensity lasers has opened the field of nuclear reactions initiated by laser-accelerated particles. One possible application is the production of aneutronic fusion reactions for clean fusion energy production. We propose an innovative scheme based on the use of two targets and present the first results obtained with the ELFIE facility (at the LULI Laboratory) for the proton–boron-11 (p–11B) fusion reaction. A proton beam, accelerated by the Target Normal Sheat Acceleration mechanism using a short laser pulse (12 J, 350 fs, 1.056 µm, 1019 W cm−2), is sent onto a boron target to initiate fusion reactions. The number of reactions is measured with particle diagnostics such as CR39 track-detectors, active nuclear diagnostic, Thomson Parabola, magnetic spectrometer, and time-of-flight detectors that collect the fusion products: the α-particles. Our experiment shows promising results for this scheme. In the present paper, we discuss its principle and advantages compared with another scheme that uses a single target and heating mechanisms directly with photons to initiate the same p–11B fusion reaction.

Keywords

Aneutronic reactionsProton–boron fusion reactionLaser-accelerated ionsTarget normal sheath accelerationParticle diagnostics
Type
Research Article
Information
Laser and Particle Beams , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , March 2015 , pp. 117 - 122
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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