Simulations investigating the effect of a deuterium-tritium-ice coating on the motion of the gold cone surface in a re-entrant cone-guided fast ignition inertial confinement fusion capsule

One- and two-dimensional multigroup radiation hydrodynamics simulations have been performed to investigate the motion of the gold plasma generated at the surface of the embedded gold cone in a re-entrant cone-guided inertial confinement fusion capsule. The effect of deuterium-tritium (DT) ice layers, and other possible tampers, of varying thickness, upon the motion of the gold cone plasma has been investigated. The effect of the x-ray drive spectrum incident upon the ice layer is also explored. Ice is shown to tamp the expansion of the gold cone, and whilst denser materials are shown to be more effective in this role, ice does not pollute the ignition region with intermediate- Z ions, which, though preferable to gold contamination, also tend to inhibit the attainment of high fuel-ion temperatures. © 2007 American Institute of Physics.