Hohlraum

In radiation thermodynamics, a hohlraum (a non-specific German word for a "hollow space" or "cavity") is a cavity whose walls are in radiative equilibrium with the radiant energy within the cavity. This idealized cavity can be approximated in practice by making a small perforation in the wall of a hollow container of any opaque material. The radiation escaping through such a perforation will be a good approximation to black-body radiation at the temperature of the interior of the container. The indirect drive approach to inertial confinement fusion is as follows: the fusion fuel capsule is held inside a cylindrical hohlraum. The hohlraum body is manufactured using a high-Z (high atomic number) element, usually gold or uranium. Inside the hohlraum is a fuel capsule containing deuterium and tritium (D-T) fuel. A frozen layer of D-T ice adheres inside the fuel capsule. The fuel capsule wall is synthesized using light elements such as plastic, beryllium, or high density carbon, i.e. diamond. The outer portion of the fuel capsule explodes outward when ablated by the x-rays produced by the hohlraum wall upon irradiation by lasers. Due to Newton's third law, the inner portion of the fuel capsule implodes, causing the D-T fuel to be supercompressed, activating a fusion reaction. The radiation source (e.g., laser) is pointed at the interior of the hohlraum rather than at the fuel capsule itself. The hohlraum absorbs and re-radiates the energy as X-rays, a process known as indirect drive. The advantage to this approach, compared to direct drive, is that high mode structures from the laser spot are smoothed out when the energy is re-radiated from the hohlraum walls. The disadvantage to this approach is that low mode asymmetries are harder to control. It is important to be able to control both high mode and low mode asymmetries to achieve a uniform implosion. The hohlraum walls must have surface roughness less than 1 micron, and hence accurate machining is required during fabrication.