DE102022003144A1 - DEVICE AND METHOD FOR GENERATION OF IFE ( INERTIAL FUSION ENERGY) - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to a method for generating neutronic and aneutronic fusion energy by means of a neutronic and/or aneutronic nuclear fusion reaction and the generation of secular electric and magnetic fields, the method comprising irradiating a target (10) made of a nanostructured material with a laser pulse, wherein the laser pulse has a laser carrier frequency ω, a pulse duration and a spot size, and wherein the laser pulse is at least partially absorbed by the nanostructured material, wherein the target (10) comprises a surface (15) with a plurality of nanorods (12) which extend from the surface (15). The present application also relates to a corresponding system and a target (10).

Description

TECHNICAL AREA

The present invention relates to a method, a system and a target in the field of generating neutronic and aneutronic fusion energy by means of a neutronic and/or aneutronic nuclear fusion reaction, i.e. ignition of an aneutronic reaction, namely a fusion reaction, i.e. conversion of laser energy into fusion energy and fusion products Initiation of fusion reactions and secular electric and magnetic fields. The conversion is achieved by irradiating a target of nanostructured material with a laser pulse such that the laser pulse is at least partially absorbed by the nanostructured material.

BACKGROUND

Fusion energy is based on the fusion of light nuclei into a heavier nucleus, converting the reduced mass of the reaction product into energy according to E=mc ² . Among the reactions known today, the combination of the isotopes deuterium and tritium, also called DT or DT, offers the best effective cross section and the lowest ignition temperature. DT's nuclear fusion reaction results in a massive production of fast neutrons around 14.1 MeV, which are then used to produce energy by converting their kinetic energy into heat through absorption in a surrounding envelope. The disadvantage of the corresponding nuclear reaction is that the energetic neutrons, which are difficult to shield, can also damage some of the material used in a reactor containment vessel.

Also known is a neutron-poor (aneutronic) fusion reaction of boron-11 and a proton, also called PB-11, in which charged reaction products, according to the equation p+B ¹¹ → 3 α + 8.9 MeV, and significantly fewer neutrons than in the above combinations of deuterium and tritium. A disadvantage of this neutron-poor fusion reaction is that it requires much higher temperatures of around 570 keV to achieve an energy-producing fusion burn. Direct ignition of PB-11 was considered unlikely using conventional thermonuclear approaches.

There are two general concepts for igniting nuclear fusion and using its energy to generate electricity: magnetic fusion energy, abbreviated MFE, and inertial fusion energy, abbreviated IFE.

In MFE, microwaves, electricity, and neutral particle beams heat a stream of hydrogen gas. This heating turns the gas into a low-density plasma, which is then compressed and confined for a long time in a very strong magnetic field created by magnets. In this way the merger can take place. The current state of the art for such a magnetically confined plasma is a donut shape, also known as a toroid. Such a reactor is called a tokamak, and a prominent publicly funded reactor of this type is part of the ITER project, which is expected to be operational in 2035.

On the other hand, inertial fusion energy differs from the above-mentioned magnetic fusion energy primarily in that the fusion fuel is compressed to high densities in a very short time and maintained at fusion densities and temperatures by its own inertia. The most common approach to IFE relies on lasers as the propulsion technology to compress the fuel.

The laser-guided IFE offers the prospect of a comparatively versatile system where changes to one part of the system do not always affect other parts. This allows the fusion reactor design to be decoupled from the driving laser system. Two types of fusion strategies are generally known today, namely hot spot and fast ignition.

As for the hot spot, unlike MFE, laser-driven IFE relies on the fusion of light nuclei in an extremely dense, high-pressure, high-temperature hot spot of plasma, where the nuclear fusion fuel wave, by its own inertia, causes the decomposition of the fuel obsolete. In conventional DT inertial fusion, ignition and the propagating fire occur when a sufficient temperature of e.g. B. 5-10 keV is achieved in a sufficient mass of DT fuel. The necessary conditions for the propagating DT fire are achieved through an appropriate balance between energy gain and loss mechanisms. If the rate When the rate of energy gain in fusion exceeds the rate of energy loss for a sufficient period of time, on the order of picoseconds, ignition occurs.

Achieving central hot-spot ignition requires a high velocity, highly symmetric spherical implosion where the incoming shock waves eventually overlap and first compress the fuel and then heat it at the moment of maximum compression. This has been studied in experiments at the National Ignition Facility, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, USA, also known as the NIF, and significant advances have been made, resulting in the highest neutron yield in an IFE experiment.

Results from 2021 show a fusion yield of 1.3MJ, which corresponds to an outward energy conversion efficiency to laser energy of about 70%, up from 0.1% in 2011. Recent experiments at the NIF also showed for the first time First signs of alpha heating detected in a laboratory setting, i.e. H. the energy generated by alpha particles stimulating additional fusion reactions in the cold fuel exceeds the kinetic energy generated by the implosion.

The NIF used a flashlamp-pumped 1.8 MJ neodymium-doped phosphate glass laser system with 192 beamlines at the third harmonic of the glass laser's transition frequency. The pulse length was about 8 nanoseconds with a special pulse shape.

The targets for indirect hotspot ignition in the NIF consist of four main components: a capsule with a filling tube, deuterium and tritium fuel in the form of a frozen layer inside the fuel capsule, a cylinder the size of an eraser known as the “void ' and encloses the capsule, and a thermal control device. The capsule must have a precise spherical shape and the surfaces must be smooth in the nanometer range. After assembly, the target is integrated into a cryogenic target positioning system and placed in the center of the target chamber. The target temperature must be maintained in the 18 to 20 Kelvin range as described at https://lasers.llnl.gov/about/how-nifworks/beamline/targets.

On the other hand, fast ignition strategies have been extensively explored, particularly at the NIF and LFEX facilities in Osaka, Japan. This approach uses a combination of two laser pulses. First, a long laser pulse causes the fuel to implode and compress, since compressing the fuel reduces the amount of heat required. Ignition is then initiated with a shorter, faster laser pulse. This reduces the amount of energy supplied in each of the two steps. The longer pulse can be "shaped" to be more efficient, reducing the total energy required and thus requiring smaller lasers.

M. Tabak, et al., Phys. Plasmas 1, 1626 (1994) proposes Fast Ignition as an approach to increase gain, reduce drive energy and relax symmetry requirements for compression. The idea is to first pre-compress the cold fuel to an intermediate density and then ignite it with a separate high-intensity short-pulse laser or particle pulse (electrons or ions). According to Inertial Fusion Science and Applications 1999, edited by C. Labaune, W.J. Hogan and KA Tanaka (Elsevier, New York/Amsterdam, 1999), fast ignition is being studied by many groups worldwide. Achievements to date include converting laser light into a beam of protons with an efficiency of 10% and focusing the beam to a spot size larger than 50 µm, e.g. B. in Hegelich et al. described, Experimental demonstration of particle energy, conversion efficiency and spectral shape required for ion-based fast ignition, Nucl. Fusion 51 083011 (2011), R. SNAVELY et al. physics Rev. Lett.85, 2945(2000) and M Key et al., Fast Ignition: Physics Progress in the US Fusion Energy Program and Prospects for Achieving Ignition.

The vast majority of these approaches are based on DT fuel with the disadvantages mentioned above. Another option is to use a PB-11 (pB) fuel. Hora et al. (Matter and Radiation at Extremes 2, 177, 2017) suggest that the barrier for pB fuel ignition can be lowered by exploiting new plasma physics. The phenomenon of “non-thermal” fusion reactions, ie fusion reactions that are not induced in the thermonuclear regime but take advantage of non-equilibrium, non-thermal distributions, was discussed by Belyaev, V., et al. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics, 2005. 72: p. 026406; Labaune, C., et al., Laser-initiated primary and secondary nuclear reactions in boron nitrides, Scientific Reports, 2016. 6: p. 21202; D. Margarone, et. al, Generation of α-Particle Beams With a Multi-kJ, Peta-Watt Class Laser System, Frontiers in Physics, 2020; Korn, G., Marga rone, D. & Picciotto, A. (2014), Boron-Proton Nuclear Fusion Enhancement Induced in Boron-doped Silicon Targets by Low-contrast Pulsed Lasers, IZEST ELI-NP Conf. Paris, September 17-18, 2014; Picciotto, A., et al., Boron-Proton Nuclear-Fusion Enhancement Induced in Boron-Doped Silicon Targets by Low-Contrast Pulsed Laser, Physical Review X, 2014, 4: p. 031030; and Margarone, D., et al., Advanced scheme for high-yield laser driven nuclear reactions, Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, 2014, 57(1): p. 014030. These results were extended by the observation that these pB response gains are many orders of magnitude higher. In particular, the results of Korn, Picciotto, and Margarone achieved reaction yields a billion times higher.

To enable non-thermal (non-equilibrium) fusion concepts, two technologies are key: laser systems that achieve sufficiently high intensity, peak power, contrast, and pulse length, and nanostructured fuel pellets (“targets”) that provide efficient laser absorption and enable the control of non-linear optical effects.

It has been 55 years since the laser was demonstrated and the first proposal to use focused laser light to trigger thermonuclear fusion (TN). The understandable optimism led to early hopes and claims that breakeven (fusion power greater than laser power) was only a few years away. However, it is only in recent years that laser and target technologies and the understanding of the associated physical relationships have progressed so far that laser-guided fusion energy can be considered a realistic option for the future.

An important development in laser technology is the increase in peak power. Initial jumps of several orders of magnitude in peak power were made possible by the discovery of Q-switching and mode-locking. Progress slowed until the late 1980s. D. Strickland and G. Mourou, Opt. Commun. 56, 219 (1985) describe the development of the chirped pulse amplification (CPA) technique. Along with other developments, CPA led to the first well-defined 100-TW class laser systems in the mid-1990s. Further developments in pulse-shaping technology, new gratings for pulse compression and beam focusing technology then opened the way to PW-class laser systems with ultra-high intensities and ultra-short pulse lengths.

Another major innovation was the world's first high average power PW-class laser system HAPLS, installed at the ELI Beamlines facility in the Czech Republic. This laser uses a diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) with a single orifice to pump the lasing medium. This diode-pumped system allows operation at 10 Hz, i. H. 10 laser shots per second, greatly expanding the possibilities for potential commercial applications of these high energy laser systems compared to previous laser systems.

New technologies such as Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplification (OPCPA) are now opening the way to 100 PW to exawatt laser systems with extremely high temporal contrast, enabling commercial applications such as laser-guided inertial fusion.

Fuel pellets for laser-guided inertial fusion can have different shapes. Cryogenic D-T targets used for hotspot ignition have already been discussed. However, with continued innovation in nanotechnology and the ability to create ever finer target structures, novel nanostructured non-frozen targets can be produced. In particular, different approaches can be chosen for surface-structured targets in order to largely increase the laser absorption.

Bargsten, Volumetric creation of ultra-high-energy-density plasma by irradiation of ordered nanowire arrays, master's thesis at Colorado State University (2016) discloses ordered nanowire arrays (nanorods) that have advantageous properties for laser absorption and the generation of immense plasma densities exhibit. Fedeli et al, Ultra-intense laser interaction with nanostructured near-critical plasmas, Scientific Reports 8:3834 (2018); DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-22147-6, discloses that the presence of nanorods greatly reduces the effect of pulse polarization and increases the energy absorbed by the ion population, while resulting in a significant reduction in electron temperature relative to a homogeneous near-critical plasma leads.

Experiments with amorphous pB-based targets using PW-class laser systems were also performed. Margarone et al., Generation of α-Particle Beams With a Multi-kJ, Peta-Watt Class Laser Sys tem, front. Phys., September 2020, https://doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2020.00343 reports an alpha flux of 10 ⁹ and a laser absorption efficiency of 7%.

The patent literature in said technical field includes US 2018/0322962 A1 , U.S. 2004/0213368 A1 , U.S.A. 4,199,685 , U.S. 2017/0125129 A1 and U.S. 2020/0321135 A1 .

The thermonuclear approach to fusion is a quasi-equilibrium concept based on neutron-rich reaction chains. They typically have the lowest activation energies or, in equilibrium physics terminology, require the lowest temperature for fusion to occur. One problem is that most of the fusion energy gained from neutron-rich reactions is consumed by the neutrons that cannot be confined in the burning hot spot.

In addition, these neutrons are difficult to shield and can lead to activation of the reactor chamber wall, resulting in high maintenance costs and radioactive waste.

Also, all neutron-rich reaction chains using D-T fuel face the problem of handling tritium, which is unstable, radioactive and rare, making potential commercialization difficult.

The main advantage of equilibria is that little net energy is transferred between the components that are in equilibrium. A disadvantage, however, is that the reactivity of equilibria is extremely low. Because the reacting system is highly time-limited, the reaction rate must be high to burn a significant portion of the fuel.

So far, attempts have been made to increase the fusion rate through massive material densification, which shifts the main part of the costs for a viable thermal fusion concept to the implosion of the fusion target. The latter introduces a number of new, still unsolved problems, including Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities and laser-plasma instabilities.

Aneutronic reaction chains like p-B or others do not have to deal with the problem of high-energy neutrons. However, they require a very high ignition temperature under classic thermonuclear conditions. They are also faced with the problem of massive material compaction. These issues prevent successful commercialization of p-B fuel-based fusion technology, as the associated laser system cost of achieving these high temperatures and high densification levels is beyond any reasonable amount that would allow for a competitively priced power supply.

Non-thermal (i.e. non-equilibrium) approaches based on p-B fuel, i. H. Approaches that operate outside of the thermonuclear regime do not rely on neutron-rich reactions, but rather on efficient ways of generating non-thermal distributions that can be sustained long enough. Non-thermal ion distributions are therefore a prerequisite for fusion with advanced fuels. So far, concepts for non-equilibrium fusion have hardly been tested. The physics of converting laser energy into fusion products such as charged particles is quite different and challenging. However, with the advent of efficient energetic ultrashort optical laser pulses and the ability to fabricate nanostructured targets, it is now possible to explore non-equilibrium pathways to fusion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to efficiently initiate fusion reactions in a non-thermal way with high reactivity in a wide range of relative centroid kinetic energies between the fusion partners, thereby providing an economically viable way to generate energy based on aneutronic fuels by efficiently converting a driving energy into fusion products and thus to obtain fusion energy.

The object is solved by a method according to claim 1, and a target according to claim 9. Preferred features of the disclosure are subject of the dependent claims.

According to the invention, a method for the non-thermal initiation of an aneutronic reaction, in particular a fusion reaction, or for the generation of secular electric and magnetic fields which irradiates a target made of a nanostructured material with a laser pulse, the laser pulse having a laser carrier frequency ω, a pulse duration and a spot size, and the laser pulse being at least partially absorbed by the nanostructured material. According to the present disclosure, the target includes a surface having a plurality of nanorods extending from the surface, the nanorods having a spacing D, a height h, and a diameter d.

In principle, many aneutronic reactions can be ignited with this concept. It works best when the mass difference of the merging cores is larger. Lighter ions are brought to high energies much faster by the fs acceleration process. Protons, due to the lowest mass of all ions, can therefore be accelerated best.

According to the invention, a system for the non-thermal ignition of a fusion reaction, for triggering a neutronic and/or aneutronic nuclear fusion reaction or for generating a secular electric and magnetic field comprises a target made of a nanostructured material and a laser device for emitting a laser pulse, the laser pulse having a laser carrier frequency ω having a pulse duration and a spot size and being at least partially absorbable by the nanostructured material, the target having a surface with a plurality of nanorods extending from the surface.

According to the invention, a target made of a nanostructured material for absorbing a laser pulse with a laser carrier frequency ω, a pulse duration and a spot size for non-thermal ignition of a fusion reaction or for generating secular electric and magnetic fields comprises a surface with a multiplicity of nanorods emanating from the surface .

Essentially, aneutronic fusion reactions such as p+B ¹¹ → 3α + 8.9 MeV, ie pB ¹¹ fusion, or secular electric and magnetic fields in nanostructured materials can be induced by brief ultra-intense optical laser radiation up to the UV and VUV spectral range or be generated. The nanostructured material should act as an ultra-fast and efficient absorber for the laser, accelerate the ions efficiently and, due to quantum effects, increase the fusion reactivity even for lower kinetic center of mass energies of the fusion partners through massive collective shielding effects.

Laser deposition in these materials is very efficient and the electrons tend to overheat. For example, nanostructured proton-boron composites can almost completely absorb ultrashort optical laser pulses, resulting in electrons being rapidly ejected from the nanostructures and a subsequent Coulomb explosion. This creates a non-thermal, i.e. non-equilibrium, distribution for fusion-relevant ions within femtoseconds, which is sufficient for pB fusion.

Because the laser-induced relative velocities between protons and boron ions are large, the reactivity is large, which in turn allows for lower average densities in the system. Since the laser deposition and the fusion in the nanostructured absorber take place quickly, instabilities are avoided. Therefore, the experimental complexity is lower and easier to handle, and significantly less laser energy is required for the conversion of the laser energy into fusion products, so that the cost of the overall system as a converter or igniter is economically viable.

An underlying physical model is essentially quantum in nature. Due to the large electric and magnetic fields induced by the absorbed short-pulse laser energy in the target's nanostructured material, the Coulomb barriers for fusion processes are shielded. Consequently, the effective tunnel length for protons is increased by the shielded Coulomb barrier. This leads to fusion cross-sections in the system, which are increased by orders of magnitude even with smaller kinetic centroid energies between the merging ionic components. Because the shielded cross-sections are increased in the absorber, fusion occurs over a much larger range of center of mass kinetic energy, even at lower energies, increasing fusion reactivity, gain, and fusion energy performance.

In addition, the nanostructured material shows an interesting scaling behavior with the wavelength of the laser pulse. At shorter wavelengths, the concept proposed here still works. However, if you work with half the laser wavelength, four times the critical plasma density in the nanostructured material can be achieved, resulting in a sixteen-fold fusion yield in the same time window. This allows for highly efficient conversion of laser energy into fusion products and can therefore lead to ignition (break-even) and profit.

The present concept is based on high-peak-power, high-contrast, high-intensity laser pulses, the laser pulses preferably being femtosecond optical laser pulses.

The nanostructured target enables fast and highly efficient optical laser absorption (>90%) without parametric instabilities. The absorption is thus significantly higher than the typical absorption efficiency that can be observed with other laser-based ignition methods.

The nanostructured target, irradiated with short, high-intensity laser pulses, leads to non-thermal distribution functions due to efficient Coulomb explosions for fusion-relevant materials involving all ions, and consequently to very large reactivities. In the case of a pB reaction, large relative velocities arise between the two due to the considerable mass difference between protons and boron ions.

Because the reactivities are large in the proposed concept, lower average densities are permissible. Therefore, an optical laser pulse can propagate through the nanostructured material at almost the speed of light, meaning that the pulse never interacts with damaged nanostructured material. Therefore, the laser pulse can generate non-thermal distributions of fusion-relevant ions until it is almost exhausted.

The nanostructured material can be tuned to the laser pulse, thereby controlling the shape of the generated distribution functions.

Irradiating the nanostructured material of the target with a laser pulse can lead to rapid evacuation and overheating of the electrons. Strong collective fields can be formed by the ejected superheated electrons. These fields can result in significant shielding of the Coulomb barriers that increase fusion rates for pB at lower centroid kinetic energies to multiple barns and even above thermonuclear fusion rates for DT.

• Erstens kann die relative Geschwindigkeit (d. h. die kinetische Energie des Massenschwerpunkts) zwischen Protonen und Borionen durch die Gestaltung des nanostrukturierten Materials und des Laserpulses gesteuert werden.

An advantage of the concept is that this process can be controlled by varying various technical parameters:

• First, the relative velocity (ie, the kinetic energy of the center of mass) between protons and boron ions can be controlled by the design of the nanostructured material and the laser pulse.

Second, shorter wavelengths for the laser pulse lead to a massive improvement in the fusion yield. Operating at half wavelength means sixteen times the fusion yield in the same time window.

Third, the average density of the nanostructured material and the wavelength of the laser pulse can be optimized to maximize fusion power and yield.

The present concept can serve as a converter or even an igniter for a subsequent burn to achieve high energy recovery factors. It is also possible to operate the target at shorter but still optical wavelengths of the laser pulse, resulting in a significant increase in fusion power and yield.

The concept of the converter igniter is based on very fast processes through efficient and fast laser deposition in the nanostructured material of the target, which leads to high relative energies of the fusion-relevant ions and high reactivity, thus enabling low-density operation that avoids instabilities. In addition, it is not necessary or only to a small extent to compress the nanostructured converter to very high densities.

Because the laser-induced processes in the target are fast, they can be incorporated into a low-compression concept, while the timing of the target ignition can be perfectly controlled.

The method described in the present disclosure, which is based on ultra-fast, high-intensity laser deposition, is significantly faster than conventional fusion methods and thus avoids instabilities. In addition, this concept works over a wider range of centroid energies and significantly less laser energy can be used for ignition, which may be crucial for the use of fusion energy in commercial power generation.

Preferably, the nanorods of the target are cylindrical and each have a rod diameter and a rod length. In this context, cylindrical nanorods means that the nanorods, which extend from a common base of the target, which is preferably a planar surface, are bounded by a cylindrical surface and a top base.

The nanorods can be right or oblique cylinders, and the top bases can be circular discs, ovals, or polygons. The nanorods are preferably grown periodically and symmetrically.

The rod length in this context is the height of the cylindrical rod, i. H. the perpendicular distance between its upper base and the common base.

Advantageously, the nanorods of the target are regularly arranged along a first direction, which is a linear direction or a circular direction, such that adjacent nanorods are spaced along the first direction by a first rod spacing. In order for the nanorods to be regularly arranged along one direction, the first rod spacing is substantially the same or an integral multiple for a plurality of the target nanorods, preferably for at least 50% of the target nanorods, most preferably for at least 90% of the target nanorods along this direction.

In the present context, a bar spacing is defined as the lateral distance between the lateral centers of two bars.

Furthermore, it is advantageous that the nanorods of the target are regularly arranged along two perpendicular directions, so that adjacent nanorods are spaced apart by a first rod spacing along a first direction of the two perpendicular directions and by a second rod spacing along a second direction of the two perpendicular directions. In order for the nanorods to be regularly arranged along a direction, the first and second rod spacings are substantially the same or an integer multiple for a plurality of the target nanorods, preferably for at least 50% of the target nanorods, most preferably for at least 90% of the Target nanorods along this direction. However, the first bar spacing along the first direction may differ from the second bar spacing along the second direction. The first and the second direction can be arranged perpendicular to one another in a Cartesian coordinate system, but also in a circular coordinate system or other coordinate systems.

The use of cylindrical rods makes it easier to use technical parameters to optimize melting performance. Such technical parameters are the bar diameter, the bar length and the distances between adjacent bars. This is an advantage over the prior art, z. B. based on amorphous targets.

wobei R der Radius des Stabes, n_i die mittlere Ionendichte, e die Ladung eines Elektrons, ε₀ die elektrische Feldkonstante, m_e die Elektronenmasse und ω die Laserträgerfrequenz ist.The absorption target works with a number of parameters. However, in order to maximize the fusion yield, the properties of the target and the laser should be matched. According to the basic scaling behavior of the target, the fusion yield increases significantly with shorter wavelength. Therefore, preferably the first bar spacing, and more preferably also the second bar spacing, is greater than or equal to $\sqrt{\pi R^2{n}_i{e}^2/e_0{m}_e{\omega }^2}$

where R is the radius of the rod, n _i is the mean ion density, e is the charge on an electron, ε ₀ is the electric field constant, m _{e is} the electron mass, and ω is the laser carrier frequency.

In other words, the rod spacing is proportional to 1/w, ie the laser carrier frequency. Thus, if ω is doubled, the distance between adjacent nanorods in two perpendicular directions is halved, the density of nanorods per area is four times greater, which means that four times as many nanorods with the same electron-donating ability can be allowed in the target. This means that the fusion power is then about 16 times greater, while the amount of fusion material is four times as high. In summary, reducing the wavelength by a factor of x increases the fusion yield by a factor of ^x4 .

When determining the rod diameter of the nanorods, it is preferable to consider the intensity of the laser including its focal point.

The rod length is preferably determined by how far the laser can penetrate into the target before it has completely used up its energy.

In a preferred embodiment, the nanostructured material comprises boron and/or boron compounds containing other materials such as boron nitride and/or hydrogen-containing materials. Alternatively or additionally, it is preferred that the nanostructured material comprises amorphous material or layers of different materials. Further alternatively or additionally, the nanostructured material preferably comprises nanorods made from alternating materials, in particular from boron or gold. Materials containing protons, boron, deuterium, tritium and gold in any concentration are also preferred.

The material composition of the nanostructured targets can vary. One possibility is to only use material relevant to fusion, such as boron or boron nitride. A second possibility is to grow nanorods with different layers. The different layers may contain a mixture of fusion relevant material and material that is e.g. B. can induce ultraviolet light radiation in the 100 nm spectrum to further increase the fusion yield. As the efficiency of the nanostructured material scales with shorter wavelength, the introduction of materials that can produce photons with a shorter wavelength than the laser pulse can make the overall system more efficient.

The material composition of the nanostructured targets can also contain DT, or it is possible to use a non-nanostructured DT composition surrounding a nanostructured target that serves as an igniter with and without compression of DT. The alpha radiation from the igniter would initiate combustion in the outer uncompressed or pre-compressed material.

The nanostructured material and the space between and around the nanorods may contain neutronic and/or aneutronic fuel.

In a preferred embodiment, the laser pulse is a femtosecond to VUV optical laser pulse. Other laser pulses are generally possible, but short femtosecond to VUV laser pulses are e.g. Compared to nanosecond laser pulses, for example, this is advantageous because instabilities are avoided and the process operates in a strong non-equilibrium due to the very short time scale.

A particularly preferred fusion reaction is p+B ¹¹ → 3α + 8.9 MeV. Further, it is preferable that the secular magnetic field has a B magnetic field strength of 1 MT to 100 MT.

Further advantages and additional features of the disclosure result from the claims and the following description.

character list

• Figure 12 shows a perspective view of a preferred target.
• The and show a plan view of the preferred target of FIG .
• shows a side view of the preferred target of FIG .
• Figure 12 is an exemplary graph showing the fusion cross sections for thermonuclear pB and thermonuclear DT fusion reactions compared to the fusion cross sections of a preferred non-thermal pB fusion reaction. Figure 1 is an exemplary graph showing the fusion cross-sections of a preferred non-thermal pB fusion reaction.
• is an exemplary isocontour plot of Q the fusion energy yield and in particular the scaling behavior of Q normalized to the initial energy in the ion distributions after laser energy deposition of a preferred non-thermal pB fusion reaction as a function of β and n _BR .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, the same or corresponding elements and features are referred to by the same or corresponding reference symbols in order to avoid a repeated description.

1 14 is a perspective view of a preferred target 10. A common base 14 is square shaped in the illustrated embodiment and has a flat top surface 15 from which a plurality of nanorods 12 extend perpendicularly from the common base 14. FIG. The nanorods 12 are regularly arranged along a first direction X and a second direction Y, the first direction X and the second direction Y being oriented perpendicularly to one another in the Cartesian sense. Alternative arrangements of the perpendicular directions are e.g. B. in circular coordinates, ie along a radius with respect to an origin and a circumference around this origin.

2a and 2 B 12 show a plan view of the preferred target 10 from FIG 1 , whereby 2a shows an overall top view of the target 10 and 2 B a detailed view of the display 2a , namely the upper right corner with four of the in 2a illustrated nanorods 12. In the top view of 2a it can be seen more clearly that the nanorods 12 are arranged regularly, ie periodically, along the first and second directions X and Y. 2a also shows a first target side length D and a second target side length D'. As illustrated, it is preferred that the nanorods 12 are regularly arranged over the entirety of the first and second target side lengths D and D'. In it is clear that a first rod spacing B between adjacent nanoposts in the first X direction is equal to a second rod spacing B' between adjacent nanoposts in the second Y direction. Although the first and second rod spacings B, B' may differ, it is preferred that the first rod spacing B be the same for at least 50% of the nanorods 12 of the target 10, more preferably for at least 90% of the nanorods 12 of the target 10 bar spacing is B'. A bar diameter A is smaller than the first and second bar spacings B, B'.

3 FIG. 12 shows a side view of the preferred target 10. FIG 1 . In this side view according to 3 For example, nanoposts 12 are shown having a post length C measured normal to surface 15 of common base 14 and between surface 15 and a top base 16 of nanoposts 12 . The nanorods 12 shown here are right-hand cylinders, but they can also be non-cylindrical in shape or oblique cylinders. However, the illustrated shape of the nanorods is preferred.

The first and second target side lengths D and D' of target 10 can preferably be determined by the size of the focal spot of the laser used for ignition and the amount of material required around the focal spot to achieve a gain well above unity. Because the nanostructured material has areal scaling properties, increasing D and D' and the laser focal spot also increases the overall melting power. Another parameter that can be varied is the composition of the target material (see above).

The nanostructured material of the target 10 can consist of boron nitride. Additionally and alternatively, the nanostructured material can consist of amorphous material or of layers of different materials, in particular also of a material for inducing ultraviolet light radiation. In particular, the nanostructured material may comprise nanorods 12 of alternating materials, in particular boron and gold, respectively, meaning that every second nanorod 12 along the first and second directions X and Y is made of boron and every alternate second nanorod 12 along the first and second Direction X and Y consists of gold.

A system for igniting a non-thermal fusion reaction also includes a laser device, not shown, which is designed to emit a laser pulse, wherein the laser pulse has a laser carrier frequency ω, a pulse duration and a focal spot size and can be at least partially absorbed by the nanostructured material of the target 10 . The intensity of the laser pulses, measured in W/cm ² , can be varied by increasing the pulse energy, the pulse length or the focal spot size of the laser device. In addition, the wavelength of the laser pulse can be varied.

wobei R der Radius des Stabes, n_i die mittlere Ionendichte, e die Ladung eines Elektrons, ε₀ die elektrische Feldkonstante, m_e die Elektronenmasse und ω die Laserträgerfrequenz ist.The target 10 and the laser properties should preferably be matched to one another. In accordance with the basic scaling behavior of the target 10, the fusion yield increases significantly with shorter wavelengths. Therefore, preferably the first bar spacing B and the second bar spacing B′ of the target 10 is greater than or equal $\sqrt{\pi R^2{n}_i{e}^2/e_0{m}_e{\omega }^2}$

where R is the radius of the rod, n _i the mean ions density, e is the charge of an electron, ε ₀ is the electric field constant, m _{e is} the electron mass and ω is the laser carrier frequency.

The intensity of the laser, including its focus, then determines the diameter of the nanorods. Rod length is determined by how far the laser can penetrate into the target before it completely uses up its energy. Four examples of preferred technical parameters for the laser device and target 10 system are shown below:

Example 1:

Laser system: wavelength 1060nm intensity 10 ^22W / ^cm2 Nanorod 12 from Target 10: Rod Diameter A 120nm double crochet length C 2-100 µm First Bar Spacing B2500nm Second Bar Spacing B' 2500nm

Example 2:

Nanorod 12 from Target 10: Laser system: wavelength 1060nm intensity 10 ^20W / ^cm2 Nanorod 12 from Target 10: Rod Diameter A 100nm double crochet length C 2-100 µm First Bar Spacing B400nm Second Bar Spacing B' 400nm

Example 3:

Laser system: wavelength 210nm intensity 10 ^22W / ^cm2 Nanorod 12 from Target 10: Rod Diameter A 100nm double crochet length C 2-100 µm First Bar Spacing B400nm Second Bar Spacing B' 400nm

Example 4:

Laser system: wavelength 210nm intensity 10 ^21W / ^cm2 Nanorod 12 from Target 10: Rod Diameter A 20nm double crochet length C 2-100 µm First Bar Spacing B 10nm Second Bar Spacing B' 10nm

Figure 12 is an exemplary graph showing cross-sections for thermonuclear pB and thermonuclear DT fusion reactions compared to the cross-section of a preferred non-thermal pB fusion reaction. A first curve 18 shows the course of a cross section of a thermonuclear pB fusion reaction over the center of mass energy. A second curve 20 shows the course of a cross section of a thermonuclear DT fusion reaction over the center of mass energy. A third curve 22, ie, a portion of a shaded area, plots a cross-section of a preferred non-thermal pB fusion reaction versus centroid energy. The cross-section of the third curve 22 is significantly higher than the first and second curves 18 and 20, especially at low centroid energies. The rapid evacuation and overheating of the electrons and the induced field distribution in the nanostructured target 10 lead to a significant shielding of the Coulomb barrier, which reduces the fusion rates for pB increased immensely even at low relative energies.

Figure 1 is an exemplary graph showing the fusion cross-sections of a preferred non-thermal pB fusion reaction. The first curve 24 shows the cross-section of a non-thermal pB fusion reaction for the shielding energy ε _s =0 MeV. A second curve 26 shows a cross-section of a non-thermal pB fusion reaction for the screening energy ε _s =1 MeV. A third curve 28 shows the cross-section of a non-thermal pB fusion reaction for the shielding energy ε _s =3 MeV.

Strong electric and magnetic fields are generated between the nanorods by the ultra-short, high-intensity driver laser. This leads to shielded cross sections for nuclear fusion. Shielded pB fusion nuclear fusion cross-sections are significantly increased at low relative energies, resulting in significantly higher reactivity at engineering parameters particularly relevant to commercial fusion energy.

The electric field effects that suppress the Coulomb barriers can be taken into account using the relative energy ε _g and the shielding energy Es of the fuel components.

is an exemplary isocontour plot of Q the fusion energy yield and in particular the scaling behavior of Q normalized to the initial energy in the ion distributions after laser energy deposition of a preferred non-thermal pB fusion reaction as a function of β and _n BR.

wobei $$\eta =\frac{n_i\mathcal{R}{\sigma }_{R,tot}^{kl}\left(\left|{\overrightarrow{g}}_{tav}\right|\right)}{1+n_i\mathcal{R}{\sigma }_{R,tot}^{kl}\left(\left|{\overrightarrow{g}}_{tav}\right|\right)}=\frac{n_l\mathcal{R}\frac{S_{kl}}{{\epsilon }_{Gkl}}\beta e^{-\sqrt{\beta }}}{1+n_l\mathcal{R}\frac{S_{kl}}{{\epsilon }_{Gkl}}\beta e^{-\sqrt{\beta }}},$$

wobei β die Summe aus der relativen Energie und der Abschirmungsenergie ist.For the present invention, the following formula for the ratio Q of the fusion energy yield normalized to the initial energy in the ion distributions after laser energy deposition can be derived: $$Q=\frac{e_{ƒ}}{e_G+e_S}n=\frac{e_{ƒ}}{e_{Gkl}}\beta n,$$

whereby $$n=\frac{n_i\mathcal{R}{\sigma }_{R,tOt}^{kl}\left(\left|{\overrightarrow{G}}_{tav}\right|\right)}{1+n_i\mathcal{R}{\sigma }_{R,tOt}^{kl}\left(\left|{\overrightarrow{G}}_{tav}\right|\right)}=\frac{n_l\mathcal{R}\frac{S_{kl}}{e_{Gkl}}\beta e^{-\sqrt{\beta }}}{1+n_l\mathcal{R}\frac{S_{kl}}{e_{Gkl}}\beta e^{-\sqrt{\beta }}},$$

where β is the sum of the relative energy and the shielding energy.

Furthermore, ε _f is the energy release of an elementary nuclear fusion reaction and ε _Gkl is the Gamov energy of the fuel, which is made up of the fuel components k and 1. In the case of pB as fuel, k=p and 1=B and ε _GpB , the Gamov energy of pB, is 2.3×10 ⁷ eV.

This shows that if the electrons in the nanostructured material are not significantly cooled by the radiation reaction, the collisional energy exchange between electrons and ions is inhibited by the overheating of the electrons by the laser and by low plasma densities in the nanostructure, which also prevent collisions . Δt then scales with the volume of the target 10. Larger volumes of the target 10 result in larger Δt. At the same time Δ _t only weakly with the wavelength of the laser pulse, since only the radiation reaction after the energy deposition is of importance. Therefore, the wavelength of the laser pulse can be increased and at the same time the nanostructure can be adjusted such that ε _g ≈ 500keV after laser deposition.

The present invention can be used for various applications. First, it can serve as a converter of laser energy into fusion energy and fusion products for various fuels, including neutron-rich or aneutronic fusion reactions, where the fuels can be placed at predefined locations in the converter and any fuel mixture can be used. Like a spark plug, the converter can be surrounded by compressed or uncompressed amorphous fuels, which are then ignited by the powerful flow of fusion products, such as alpha particles in the case of pB ¹¹ fusion, coming out of the converter. Second, the invention can serve as a nanoscopic integrated particle accelerator, producing protons, neutrons, alpha particles, and electrons with high fluxes, high powers, and high kinetic energies. Third, the nanostructured material can be used as a source for novel diagnostics and the generation of powerful X-rays.

Other embodiments

• E.1 Verfahren nach einer der vorangegangenen Ausführungsformen , wobei der Laserpuls ein optischer Femtosekunden- bis VUV-Laserpuls ist.
• E.2. Das Verfahren nach einer der vorhergehenden Ausführungsformen, wobei die Fusionsreaktion p+B¹¹ → 3α + 8,9 MeV umfasst.
• E.3 . Das Verfahren nach einer der vorhergehenden Ausführungsformen, wobei das säkulare Magnetfeld eine magnetische B-Feldstärke von 1 MT bis 100 MT aufweist.
• E.4. System zur Auslösung einer neutronischen und/oder aneutronischen Kernfusionsreaktion oder zur Erzeugung eines säkularen elektrischen und magnetischen Feldes, wobei das System Folgendes umfasst ein Target (10) aus einem nano-strukturierten Material und eine Laservorrichtung zum Emittieren eines Laserpulses, wobei der Laserpuls eine Laserträgerfrequenz ω, eine Pulsdauer und eine Spotgröße aufweist und zumindest teilweise von dem nanostrukturierten Material absorbiert werden kann, wobei das Target (10) eine Oberfläche (15) mit einer Vielzahl von Nanostäben (12) aufweist, die sich von der Oberfläche (15) erstrecken.
• E.5. Das System nach E.4, wobei ein Teil oder alle Nanostäbe (12) des Targets (10) zylindrisch oder konisch geformt sind, während sie eine kreisförmige, elliptische, rechteckige oder polygonale Basis haben, die jeweils einen mittleren Stabdurchmesser (A) und eine Stablänge (C) aufweisen.
• E.6 Das System nach E.4 oder E.5 , wobei die Nanostäbe (12) des Targets (10) regelmäßig entlang einer ersten Richtung (X) angeordnet sind, die eine lineare Richtung oder eine kreisförmige Richtung ist, so dass benachbarte Nanostäbe (12) entlang der ersten Richtung (X) um einen ersten Stababstand (B) beabstandet sind.
• E.7. Das System nach E.4 oder E.5 , wobei die Nanostäbe (12) des Targets (10) regelmäßig entlang zweier senkrechter Richtungen (X, Y) angeordnet sind, so dass benachbarte Nanostäbe (12) entlang einer ersten Richtung (X) der beiden senkrechten Richtungen um einen ersten Stababstand (B) und entlang einer zweiten Richtung (Y) der beiden senkrechten Richtungen (X, Y) um einen zweiten Stababstand (B') beabstandet sind.
• E.8 Das System nach E.6 oder E.7 , wobei der erste Stababstand (B) und vorzugsweise auch der zweite Stababstand (B') größer oder gleich $\sqrt{\pi R^2{n}_i{e}^2/{\epsilon }_0{m}_e{\omega }^2}$
  
  ist, wobei R der Radius des Stabes, n_i die durchschnittliche Ionendichte, e die Ladung eines Elektrons, ε₀ die elektrische Feldkonstante, m_e die Elektronenmasse und ω die Laserträgerfrequenz ist.
• E.9 Das System nach einem von E.4 bis E.8 , wobei das nanostrukturierte Material Bor und/oder Bornitrid und/oder wasserstoffhaltiges Material umfasst, insbesondere, wenn das nano-strukturierte Material auch DT innerhalb und zwischen den Nanostäben umfasst, insbesondere, wenn das nanostrukturierte Material von einer nicht nanostrukturierten DT-Verbindung umgeben ist, wobei insbesondere das nanostrukturierte Material und ein Raum in und zwischen den Nanostäben einen neutronischen Brennstoff und/oder einen aneutronischen Brennstoff umfasst.
• E.10 Das System nach E.4 bis E.9, wobei das nanostrukturierte Material amorphes Material oder Schichten aus verschiedenen Materialien umfasst, insbesondere einschließlich eines Materials zur Induktion von ultravioletter Lichtstrahlung.
• E.11. Das System nach einem von E.4 bis E.10, wobei das nanostrukturierte Material Nanostäbchen (12) aus abwechselnden Materialien umfasst, insbesondere aus Protonen, Bor, Deuterium, Tritium bzw. Gold.
• E.12. Das System nach einem von E.4 bis E.11 , wobei der Laserpuls ein optischer Femtosekunden- bis VUV-Laserpuls ist.
• E.13. Das System nach einem von E.4 bis E. 12 , wobei die Fusionsreaktion p+B¹¹ → 3α + 8,9 MeV umfasst.
• E.14. System nach einem von E.4 bis E.12, wobei das säkulare Magnetfeld eine magnetische B-Feldstärke von 1 MT bis 100 MT aufweist.
• E.15 Das Target (10) nach einer der vorhergehenden Ausführungsformen, wobei die Nanostäbe (12) des Targets (10) regelmäßig entlang einer ersten Richtung (X) angeordnet sind, die eine lineare Richtung oder eine kreisförmige Richtung ist, so dass benachbarte Nanostäbe (12) entlang der ersten Richtung (X) um einen ersten Stababstand (B) beabstandet sind.
• E.16 Das Target (10) nach einer der vorherigen Ausführungsformen, wobei die Nanostäbe (12) des Targets (10) regelmäßig entlang zweier senkrechter Richtungen (X, Y) angeordnet sind, so dass benachbarte Nanostäbe (12) entlang einer ersten Richtung (X) der beiden senkrechten Richtungen um einen ersten Stababstand (B) und entlang einer zweiten Richtung (Y) der beiden senkrechten Richtungen (X, Y) um einen zweiten Stababstand (B') beabstandet sind.
• E.17 Das Target (10) nach E.15 oder E.16, wobei der erste Stababstand (B) und vorzugsweise auch der zweite Stababstand (B') größer oder gleich ist $\sqrt{\pi R^2{n}_i{e}^2/{\epsilon }_0{m}_e{\omega }^2},$
  
  wobei R der Radius des Stabes, n_i die durchschnittliche Ionendichte, e die Ladung eines Elektrons, ε₀ die elektrische Feldkonstante, m_e die Elektronenmasse und ω die Laserträgerfrequenz ist.
• E.18 Das Target (10) nach einer der vorhergehenden Ausführungsformen, wobei das nanostrukturierte Material Bor und/oder Bornitrid und/oder wasserstoffhaltiges Material umfasst, insbesondere, wenn das nano-strukturierte Material auch DT innerhalb und zwischen den Nanostäben umfasst, insbesondere, wenn das nanostrukturierte Material von einer nicht nanostrukturierten DT-Verbindung umgeben ist, wobei insbesondere das nanostrukturierte Material und ein Raum in und zwischen den Nanostäben einen neutronischen Brennstoff und/oder einen aneutronischen Brennstoff umfasst.
• E.19 Das Target (10) gemäß einer der vorhergehenden Ausführungsformen, wobei das nanostrukturierte Material amorphes Material oder Schichten aus verschiedenen Materialien umfasst, insbesondere einschließlich eines Materials zur Induktion ultravioletter Lichtstrahlung.
• E.20 Das Target (10) gemäß einer der vorhergehenden Ausführungsformen, wobei das nanostrukturierte Material Nanostäbe (12) aus alternierenden Materialien umfasst, die insbesondere Protonen, Bor, Deuterium, Tritium bzw. Gold enthalten.
• E.21 Das Target (10) nach einer der vorhergehenden Ausführungsformen, wobei die Fusionsreaktion p+B¹¹ → 3α + 8,9 MeV umfasst.
• E.22 Das Target (10) nach einer der vorhergehenden Ausführungsformen, wobei das säkulare Magnetfeld eine magnetische B-Feldstärke von 1 MT bis 100 MT aufweist.

Further embodiments of the present disclosure are:

• E.1 Method according to one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the laser pulse is an optical femtosecond to VUV laser pulse.
• E.2. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the fusion reaction comprises p+B ¹¹ → 3α + 8.9 MeV.
• E.3 . The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the secular magnetic field has a B magnetic field strength of 1 MT to 100 MT.
• E.4. System for initiating a neutronic and/or aneutronic nuclear fusion reaction or for generating a secular electric and magnetic field, the system comprising a target (10) made of a nano-structured material and a laser device for emitting a laser pulse, the laser pulse having a laser carrier frequency ω having a pulse duration and a spot size and being at least partially absorbable by the nanostructured material, the target (10) having a surface (15) with a plurality of nanorods (12) extending from the surface (15).
• E.5. The system of E.4, wherein part or all of the nanorods (12) of the target (10) are cylindrical or conical in shape while having a circular, elliptical, rectangular or polygonal base, each having an average rod diameter (A) and a have rod length (C).
• E.6 The system according to E.4 or E.5, wherein the nanorods (12) of the target (10) are regularly arranged along a first direction (X), which is a linear direction or a circular direction such that adjacent nanorods (12) are spaced apart along the first direction (X) by a first rod spacing (B).
• E.7. The system according to E.4 or E.5, wherein the nanorods (12) of the target (10) are arranged regularly along two perpendicular directions (X, Y), so that adjacent nanorods (12) along a first direction (X) of the along both perpendicular directions by a first bar spacing (B) and along a second direction (Y) of the two perpendicular directions (X, Y) by a second bar spacing (B').
• E.8 The system according to E.6 or E.7, wherein the first bar spacing (B) and preferably also the second bar spacing (B') are greater than or equal to $\sqrt{\pi R^2{n}_i{e}^2/e_0{m}_e{\omega }^2}$
  
  where R is the radius of the rod, n _{i is} the average ion density, e is the charge on an electron, ε ₀ is the electric field constant, m _{e is} the electron mass, and ω is the laser carrier frequency.
• E.9 The system according to one of E.4 to E.8, wherein the nanostructured material comprises boron and/or boron nitride and/or hydrogen-containing material, in particular if the nanostructured material also comprises DT within and between the nanorods, in particular , when the nanostructured material is surrounded by a non-nanostructured DT compound, in particular wherein the nanostructured material and a space in and between the nanorods comprises a neutronic fuel and/or an aneutronic fuel.
• E.10 The system according to E.4 to E.9, wherein the nanostructured material comprises amorphous material or layers of different materials, in particular including a material for inducing ultraviolet light radiation.
• E.11. The system according to one of E.4 to E.10, wherein the nanostructured material comprises nanorods (12) made of alternating materials, in particular proton, boron, deuterium, tritium and gold.
• E.12. The system of any one of E.4 to E.11, wherein the laser pulse is a femtosecond to VUV optical laser pulse.
• E.13. The system of any one of E.4 to E.12, wherein the fusion reaction comprises p+B ¹¹ → 3α + 8.9 MeV.
• E.14. The system of any one of E.4 to E.12, wherein the secular magnetic field has a B magnetic field strength of 1 MT to 100 MT.
• E.15 The target (10) according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the nanorods (12) of the target (10) are regularly arranged along a first direction (X), which is a linear direction or a circular direction, such that adjacent nanorods (12) are spaced along the first direction (X) by a first bar spacing (B).
• E.16 The target (10) according to one of the previous embodiments, wherein the nanorods (12) of the target (10) are arranged regularly along two perpendicular directions (X, Y), so that adjacent nanorods (12) along a first direction ( X) of the two perpendicular directions are spaced apart by a first bar spacing (B) and along a second direction (Y) of the two perpendicular directions (X, Y) by a second bar spacing (B').
• E.17 The target (10) according to E.15 or E.16, wherein the first bar spacing (B) and preferably also the second bar spacing (B') is greater than or equal $\sqrt{\pi R^2{n}_i{e}^2/e_0{m}_e{\omega }^2},$
  
  where R is the radius of the rod, n _i is the average ion density, e is the charge on an electron, ε ₀ is the electric field constant, m _{e is} the electron mass, and ω is the laser carrier frequency.
• E.18 The target (10) according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the nanostructured material comprises boron and/or boron nitride and/or hydrogen-containing material, particularly when the nanostructured material also comprises DT within and between the nanorods, particularly when the nanostructured material is surrounded by a non-nanostructured DT compound, in particular wherein the nanostructured material and a space in and between the nanorods comprises a neutronic fuel and/or an aneutronic fuel.
• E.19 The target (10) according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the nanostructured material comprises amorphous material or layers of different materials, in particular including a material for inducing ultraviolet light radiation.
• E.20 The target (10) according to one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the nanostructured material comprises nanorods (12) made of alternating materials, which in particular contain protons, boron, deuterium, tritium or gold.
• E.21 The target (10) according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the fusion reaction comprises p+B ¹¹ → 3α + 8.9 MeV.
• E.22 The target (10) of any preceding embodiment, wherein the secular magnetic field has a magnetic B field strength of 1 MT to 100 MT.

Reference List

10

Target

12

nano rod

14

common ground

15

surface

16

top base

18

Cross section through the pB thermonuclear fusion reaction

20

Cross section of a thermonuclear DT fusion reaction

22

Cross-section of the non-thermal pB fusion reaction

24

Cross-section of the non-thermal pB fusion reaction for the shielding energy ε _s =0 MeV

26

Cross-section of the non-thermal pB fusion reaction for the shielding energy ss =1 MeV

28

Cross-section of the non-thermal pB fusion reaction for the shielding energy ε _s =3 MeV

Arod

diameter

burst

rod removal

B'

second rod removal

Crod

length

the first

target side length

D'

second target side length

Xfirst

Direction

Y

seconds direction

QUOTES INCLUDED IN DESCRIPTION

This list of documents cited by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent Literature Cited

• US 20180322962 A1 [0024]
• US 20040213368 A1 [0024]
• US4199685A [0024]
• US20170125129A1 [0024]
• US20200321135A1 [0024]

Claims (10)

Method for generating neutronic and aneutronic fusion energy by a neutronic and/or aneutronic nuclear fusion reaction or for generating secular electric and magnetic fields, the method comprising irradiating a target (10) made of nanostructured material with a laser pulse, wherein the laser pulse has a laser carrier frequency ω, a pulse duration and a spot size, and wherein the laser pulse is at least partially absorbed by the nanostructured material, wherein the target (10) has a surface (15) with a plurality of nanorods (12) extending from the surface (15). procedure after claim 1 wherein part or all of the nanorods (12) of the target (10) are cylindrical or conical in shape while having a circular, elliptical, rectangular or polygonal base, each having an average rod diameter (A) and a rod length (C). procedure after claim 1 or 2 , wherein the nanorods (12) of the target (10) are regularly arranged along a first direction (X), which is a linear direction or a circular direction, such that adjacent nanorods (12) along the first direction (X) by a first Bar spacing (B) are spaced. procedure after claim 1 or 2 , wherein the nanorods (12) of the target (10) are arranged regularly along two perpendicular directions (X, Y), so that adjacent nanorods (12) along a first direction (X) of the two perpendicular directions by a first rod spacing (B) and are spaced along a second direction (Y) of the two perpendicular directions (X, Y) by a second bar spacing (B'). procedure after claim 3 or 4 , wherein the first bar spacing (B), preferably also the second bar spacing (B'), is greater than or equal to $\sqrt{\pi R^2{n}_i{e}^2/e_0{m}_e{\omega }^2},$

where R is the radius of the rod, n _i is the average ion density, e is the charge on an electron, ε ₀ is the electric field constant, m _{e is} the electron mass, and ω is the laser carrier frequency. Procedure according to one of Claims 1 until 5 , wherein the nanostructured material comprises boron and/or boron nitride and/or hydrogen-containing material, in particular, wherein the nanostructured material also comprises DT within and between the nanorods, in particular, wherein the nanostructured material is surrounded by a non-nanostructured DT compound, in particular wherein the nanostructured material and a space between and around the nanorods contains at least one of a neutronic fuel and an aneutronic fuel. Procedure according to one of Claims 1 until 6 wherein the nano-structured material comprises amorphous material or layers of different materials, in particular including a material for inducing ultraviolet light radiation. Procedure according to one of Claims 1 until 7 , wherein the nanostructured material comprises nanorods (12) made of alternating materials, which in particular contain protons, boron, deuterium, tritium or gold. A target (10) made of a nanostructured material for absorbing a laser pulse with a laser carrier frequency ω, a pulse duration and a spot size for triggering fusion reactions or for generating a secular electric and magnetic field, the target (10) having a surface (15) with a Having a plurality of nanorods (12) extending from the surface (15). The target (10) after claim 9 wherein part or all of the nanorods (12) of the target (10) are cylindrical or conical in shape while having a circular, elliptical, rectangular or polygonal base, each having an average rod diameter (A) and a rod length (C).

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