Application of pulse power technology to inertial confinement fusion: Focusing and propagation of proton beam

Abstract

It is the aim of this article to design a fusion power plant whose electric output power is 1 GW and find a way for breaking through fusion technically and energy economically. Proton beams whose total energy is 12 MJ, pulse width 30 ns, and beam number 6 are chosen here as the energy driver. Because of the low quality of these proton beams, the target should be indirect driven and its radius should be large. The target with the radius of 8.7 mm is the spherical cryogenic hollow one, which has double shells and five layers. The reactor has double solid walls. The inner wall rotates around the axis to induce a centrifugal acceleration. Flibe as the coolant protects the solid walls from damage and breeds tritium. The key technology of this power plant is for beam focusing and propagation. To suppress beam divergence by the electrostatic force due to unneutralized proton charge, simultaneous electron beam launching is proposed. When the excess electron beam current is –50 kA, the induced magnetic field in the azimuthal direction confines the beam in a radius of 5 mm, provided that the beam path is covered by the metal guide whose radius is 6 mm.