Inertial confinement fusion research with intense pulsed light ion beams

The paper reviews research and development of an intense pulsed particle beam at the Technological University of Nagaoka. The activities in connection with the 'ETIGO Project' include both experimental and theoretical studies. (1) A new, self-magnetically insulated ion diode called the 'plasma focus diode' has been developed; a significant enhancement of the ion current density on the anode surface is achieved with this diode compared with other ion diodes, under the same experimental conditions. (2) A Rutherford scattering pinhole camera technique has been used to measure the local divergence angle and to determine its dependence on various parameters. (3) A new diagnostic technique has been developed for the measurement of ablation processes in ion beam-target interaction; a strong light from a z-discharged plasma is utilized as a backlight. (4) An inductive post-acceleration experiment has been carried out on an ion beam highly charge and current neutralized by electrons. (5) A new pulsed power machine, the ETIGO-II, has been constructed; it has a Marx generator with 160 kJ of stored energy and its output energy at 3 MV is 70 kJ. (6) The development of a particle-in-cell diode simulation code, ion beam focusing with an external magnetic or electric field, ion beam transport and pellet implosion have been studied theoretically with one- and three-dimensional codes. (author). 7 refs, 8 figs