Electromagnetic and Particle Diagnostics for Transformative Fusion-Energy Concepts
Critical Need:
Project Innovation + Advantages:
Los Alamos National Laboratory and its partner, the University of Nevada-Reno, will provide visible spectroscopy and soft x-ray imaging diagnostics to characterize the performance of a number of lower-cost, potentially transformative fusion-energy concepts. Multi-chord visible spectroscopy measurements will enable the identification of impurities and their spatial and temporal variation in the plasmas, which is essential for understanding plasma composition and plasma conditions. A state-of-the-art, solid-state X-ray imager, the Adaptive Gain Integrating Pixel Detector (AGIPD), will be used to make soft x-ray movies of the hot plasma core, enabling visualization of the evolution of instabilities of all but the shortest duration plasmas.
Potential Impact:
Accelerating and lowering the costs of fusion development and eventual deployment will enable fusion energy to contribute to:
Security:
Fusion energy will ensure the U.S.’s technological lead and energy security.
Environment:
Fusion energy will improve our chances of meeting growing global clean-energy demand and realizing cost-effective, net-zero carbon emissions, while minimizing pollution and avoiding long-lived radioactive waste.
Economy:
As a disruptive technology, fusion energy will likely create new markets, opportunities, and export advantages for the U.S.