Special Report of the Pulsed Power Inertial Confinement Fusion

		Special Report of Pulsed Power Inertial Confinement Fusion Program


	Time-exposure photograph of electrical flashover arcs produced over the surface of the water in the accelerator tank as a byproduct of Z operation. These flashovers are much like strokes of lightning.

The Special Report was an occasional one-paragraph summary of important results/events in the Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Program at Sandia that was produced from 1994 to 2000 for the weekly Defense Program News. These special reports were distributed to Sandia's Nuclear Weapons Program (9000), the Department of Energy, and management and staff in ICF in the Pulsed Power Sciences Center (1600).

These reports are included here in order to provide historical perspective with respect to the transition of Sandia's ICF Program from an emphasis on light ion beam research for fusion to an emphasis on z pinches for fusion and high energy density physics.

2000

Isentropic compression team receives award (March)
1998

Radiation temperature > 150 eV on Z (April)

Nested wire arrays increase peak radiated power on Z by 45% (February)
1997

Z pinch program receives IndustryWeek Award (December)

130 eV radiation temperature measured in vacuum hohlraum on Z (July)

90 kJ of x-ray energy >4.5 keV for weapons effects tests obtained on Z (June)

Improved power flow and load geometry increase x-ray power by 25% (April)
1996

PBFA-Z radiated energy and power milestones achieved on same shot (November)

PBFA-Z radiated x-ray energy milestone achieved (November)

First z-pinch-driven x-ray radiation shot on PBFA Z (October)

Extraction ion diode experiments on Gamble II for focusing and transport (September)