Targets driven by dual energy ions

In a previous paper the authors described a concept for pulse shaping a heavy ion beam. The pulse shaping was accomplished by using two significantly different ion particle energies. Briefly, low-energy ions of moderate power, that is 2 to 5 GeV Hg ions at 5 to 50 TW, are used to directly drive a spherical-shell target that is cryogenically layered with DT. The purpose of this first pulse is to compress the DT fuel, and the results suggest compressions of a hundred to a few hundred times solid density are possible. Following compression the target is irradiated with a high particle energy and power pulse, that is 30 to 60 GeV Hg ions at 800 to 3000 TW. The main purpose of the second pulse is to bring the central DT region to ignition. These conditions are established by focusing the high-power beams to a spot size that is typically the order of or less than a millimeter in radius. Because the pusher is compressed by the first pulse, when the high-power beams arrive, the pusher is an effective high-energy particle absorber. Consequently, high-energy ions can be used to drive a less massive pusher, which produces the final fuel compression and heating. In this paper the authors present results on the effect of finite beam size (i.e. finite beam emittance) and present the concepts most important characteristics