High power pulsed lasers

Pulsed high power lasers can deliver sufficient energy on inertial fusion time scales (0.1-10 ns) to heat and compress DT fuel to fusion reaction conditions. Several laser systems have been examined for application to the fusion problem. Examples are Nd: glass, CO2, KrF, and I2, etc. A great deal of developmental effort has been applied to the Nd: glass laser and the CO2 gas laser systems. These systems now deliver > 104 J and > 20 X 1012 W to inertial fusion targets. The Nova Nd: glass laser is being constructed to provide > 200 kJ and greater than or equal to 200 X 1012 W of 1 μm radiation for fusion experimentation in the mid-1980s. For inertia fusion target gain, > 100 times the laser input, it is expected that the laser must deliver about 3-5 MJ of energy on the 10-20 ns time scale. This paper reviews the developments in laser technology and outlines approaches to construction of a 3-5 MJ driver