Preparing for polar-drive ignition on the National Ignition Facility

¹ Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
² Also Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Physics & Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
³ General Atomics, San Diego, CA, USA
⁴ Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
⁵ Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA

^a e-mail: pmck@lle.rochester.edu

Published online: 15 November 2013

Abstract

The implementation of polar drive (PD) at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) will enable the execution of direct-drive implosions while the facility is configured for x-ray drive. The Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), in collaboration with LLNL, LANL and GA, is implementing PD on the NIF. LLE has designed and participates in the use of PD implosions for diagnostic commissioning on the NIF. LLE has an active experimental campaign to develop PD in both warm and cryogenic target experiments on OMEGA. LLE and its partners are developing a Polar Drive Project Execution Plan, which will provide a detailed outline of the requirements, resources, and timetable leading to PD-ignition experiments on the NIF.