Litel Instruments

Innoven Energy LLC

Other

Maxwell Laboratories, Inc.

Lael Instruments

Robert O Hunter, Jr

Adlai H Smith

Bruce B McArthur

Bruce G MacDonald

Conner D Galloway

David H Sowle

Alexander V Valys

Clark C Guest

David L Fried

Joseph Bendik

Eric W Cornell

Chester A Farris, Iii

Thomas K Khuu

Joseph John Bendik, Jr

Yuji Yamaguchi

Jim Wilkinson

Steven Blair

Craig N Howton

An Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) target may include a case comprising a plurality of beam channels; an outer shell disposed within the case; a propellant disposed between the case and the outer shell; an inner shell disposed within the outer shell; an outer fuel disposed between the outer shell and the inner shell; and an inner fuel disposed inside the inner shell.

Simple and robust configuration for ICF targets

A compact, simpler, more economical ICF target chamber and reactor design that maintains a low internal pressure, sub-atmospheric, and very small neutron flux on any pressure bearing vessel or steam generating mechanism. The present invention reduces radiant target emission towards the nearest wall of the hohlraum wall and/or sleeve material so that the radiation from target burn exits the end of the hohlraum through a wall material sufficiently thick to contain the target drive radiation, but becomes transparent to the target emitted radiation. The compact converter contains the energy released by the ICF target and converts it into usable heat to create steam. It also converts the excess neutrons, from the ICF target, into tritium. This is then collected with the unburnt fuel tritium.

Confinement walls for inertial confinement fusion chambers

A confinement chamber for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) may include a closed hohlraum and ICF target wherein the ICF target may comprise a central spherical fuel region, inner shell, outer fuel region, outer shell, and propellant region. A multitude of cylindrical beam channels may penetrate the entire thickness of the hohlraum. At the end of each cylindrical beam channel, where they exit the hohlraum, is a hemispherical cavity. Centered in the curvature of each cavity, and coaxial with each beam channel is a gold foam radiator. By layering materials or grading the density of a material in the propellant region of the closed hohlraum ICF target, the pressure profile on the outer shell may be tailored.

Propellant grading for laser-driven multi-shell inertial confinement fusion target

A set of optical elements for optical extraction composed of packed expanding optical cross sections to efficiently extract from a large gain region. The elements are rectangular shaped concave small expansion lenses matched to rectangular convex collimating lenses. Absorbing sheets divide an overall large volume up into smaller volumes to minimize losses due to amplified spontaneous emission. This arrangement has various applications, particularly in inertial confinement technology, where it may be used to extract energy from KrF laser media energized by electron beams. For certain applications, this regime of the gain medium may have zones at the absorbing sheets where this is no gain.

Arrangement of expanding optical flows for efficient laser extraction

A system and method for integrating a direct compressor with a primary laser source and fast compressor while also reducing the number of mechanical elements and gas interfaces. A nonlinear scattering aperture combiner does not need to be optically multiplexed in order to drive a direct compressor stage, but by producing a large temporal compression ratio it will then pump the fast compressor. In order to accomplish this, a technique for transversely segmenting by color and/or polarization of the optical extraction beams of the direct compressor is utilized.

Integration of direct compressor with primary laser source and fast compressor

An apparatus and process for pumping laser media by an optical pump over a 10 nanosecond period and thereafter time compressing the energy into an extraction pulse and focusing onto a target with a final 1 nanosecond irradiation time are disclosed. The exciting pump pulses are directed into a lookthrough compression arrangement wherein they energize a stimulated scattering process in low pressure (about 1 atmosphere) gaseous media and impinge in an off axis backward geometry. The extraction pulse is formed and directed towards the target with the appropriate information (color, phase, desired irradiance pattern) impressed on it at relatively low energy by manipulation with conventional, solid material optical elements. Once formed, it traverses the gaseous media, is amplified, and proceeds through a vacuum transition section and onto the target. After the injection of the extraction pulse into the lookthrough compression arrangement, it is amplified in the gaseous media by conversion of the pump energy, coupled through the scattering process. The media and the pump and extraction pulses are tailored to give high energy gain to the input optical pulse, high output fluence, good beam quality (high fidelity amplification to the desired temporal and spatial shape), and time compression. Once injected into the entrance to the first section by the material elements, the extraction pulse proceeds through shutter areas that separate different media regions and encounter no further solid material optical elements as it travels to the target. The focus on the target is impressed before amplification and time compression from the pump pulses and results in a very high brightness irradiance of the target. The desired spatial pattern of irradiance on the target is likewise formed with material elements and then imaged onto the target. Fluences some 2-3 orders of magnitude above those available under the conventional art may be thus obtained with an output brightness better by some six orders of magnitude.

Lookthrough compression arrangement

A method of using an ICF chamber may include causing a target in the ICF chamber to emit x-ray radiation; receiving the x-ray radiation through a plurality of holes in a wall of the ICF chamber; and absorbing the x-ray radiation in a gas contained in a plurality of tubes that are coupled to the plurality of holes.

Structure for containment of radiation from an ICF

A method of imploding an Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) target may include directing laser energy into a hohlraum, where a target is disposed within the hohlraum that includes an ablator layer, a shell disposed within the ablator layer, and a fuel region disposed within the shell. The method may also include ablating the ablator layer in response to the laser energy being directed into the hohlraum, and generating a single shockwave that is driven inward through the ablator layer. The method may further include impulsively accelerating the shell inward when hit by the single shockwave, and compressing the fuel region by the inward acceleration of the shell.

Simple and robust implosion of ICF targets

A method of mapping a target region image to a referenced image includes steps of acquiring the target region image. The method also includes acquiring the referenced image overlapping the target region image. The method further includes determining a number of common subregions in an intersection of the referenced image and the target region image, determining offsets between the common subregions, computing a distortion map of the target region image over the intersection, and remapping the target region image to match the reference image. The method can be utilized in a Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and the target image can be a SAR image.

Precision geographic location system and method utilizing an image product

Embodiments include an optical configuration of a laser for driving an inertial confinement target that may include a section configured to generate long pulse laser light (Primary Laser Source) and then to compress the long pulse with multiple compression stages to a desired pulse length, energy, and beam quality (Compression Section). These configurations can utilize compression stages that do not include any material optics operating near damage fluence, and that do not require material optics exposed to high fluences to couple compression stages to each other.

Optical configurations for fusion laser

The present architecture utilizes a Nonlinear Scattering Aperture Combiner that does not need to be optically multiplexed and then drives a Direct Compressor stage that produces a large temporal compression ratio to pump a Fast Compressor. This eliminates the need for a separate array of ATDMs, multiplexing optical elements, and, at the approximate 10joule energy output required for ICF, reduces the number of mechanical elements and gas interfaces from the order of 10to about 10. In addition, this provides a large reduction of the volume of the gas containment region. In order to accomplish this, a technique for transversely segmenting by color and/or polarization of the optical extraction beams of the Direct Compressor has been invented. In particular, it emphasizes the simplicity and uniqueness of design of the Direct Compressor. The Direct Compressor is unique in terms of high fluence, high temporal compression ratios, and high stage gain, leading to a very large reduction in laser costs. It may separately have many other applications than ICF.

Method for direct compression of laser pulses with large temporal ratios

Systems and methods relating to assessing a navigation subsystem are provided. One method includes: acquiring a ground image associated with a nominal position; assigning one or more texture classes to each of a plurality of pixels of the ground image; partitioning the processed ground image into a plurality of ground image sub regions; retrieving a reference image from an atlas of reference images; generating a plurality of matching statistics comprising a matching statistic for each ground image sub region by comparing the ground image sub region to a portion of the reference image; calculating a calculated position of the ground image and an uncertainty associated with the calculated position based on the matching statistics; and determining critique data associated with the navigation subsystem based on a comparison of the calculated position of the ground image with at least one position determined by the navigation subsystem.

System and method for advanced navigation

A method for mapping a target image to a reference image includes receiving a target image; receiving a reference image that overlaps the target image; preprocessing the target image, wherein the preprocessing includes: rejecting a target image with a shadow region above a shadow threshold while keeping a target image with a shadow region below a shadow threshold; providing an uncertainty in a location of the kept target image relative to the reference image; transforming the kept target image to an atlas projection to match the reference image; partitioning the transformed kept target image into a sub-region; and determining a matching statistic for each sub-region to determine a location for each sub-region relative to the reference image.

Method and system for high accuracy and reliability registration of multi modal imagery

Cylindrical inertial confinement fusion reaction chambers are disclosed according to some embodiments of the invention. These chambers can include neutron moderating/absorbing material, radiation absorbing material, and debris collection material. These chambers can also include various injection ports, nozzles, beam ports, sacrificial layers, absorbers, coolant systems, etc. These chambers can be used with directional and/or omni-directional targets.

Growing community of inventors

Snowmass Village, CO, United States of America

Robert O Hunter, Jr