Fast ignitor research with use of ultra-intense laser system

Several years ago a new concept called 'fast ignition' was introduced for inertial confinement fusion (ICF). The concept proposes to use an ultra-intense (Peta watt) short (psec) laser pulse to ignite a highly compressed fuel core within the core disassembly time. Since then, Japan, England, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Russia, Spain and USA started intensive studies on ultrahigh intensity laser plasma interactions. We report on our most recent experimental and theoretical studies on fast ignitor related research at the Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University. (author)