The HiPER+ consortium has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute of Laser Engineering of the University of Osaka. ILE is the home of the twelve beam laser facility Gekko and of the kilojoule petawatt laser LFEX. ILE researchers have provided fundamental contributions to the study of Inertial Fusion physics, in particular the first evidence of compression of deuterium-tritium fuel to 600 times the density of liquid state (Ref.1) and the measurements of fuel heating due to hot electrons produced in a cone-guided fast ignition experiment (Ref.2).
The MoU will be useful to promote closer collaboration in the field of High-power laser technology, laser-produced plasma sciences, and direct-drive inertial confinement fusion, with a view to contributing to the conceptual design of future European and Japanese High Power Laser Fusion Research Facilities.
(1) High-density compression experiments at ILE Osaka, H. Azechi, et al. Laser and Particle Beams , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , June 1991 , pp. 193 – 207
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0263034600003281
(2) Fast heating scalable to laser fusion ignition, R. Kodama, et al. Nature volume 418, pages 933–934 (2002) https://www.nature.com/articles/418933a
Prof. Ryosuke Kodama, director of ILE

