THE SPECTROSCOPY OF URANIUM ATOM WITHIN THE "SILVA" PROGRAM

Atomic vapor laser isotope separation (SILVA) has been recognized as beeing an attractive powerful technique for the enrichment of uranium for light water reactor fuel. Since the heart of the AVLIS process is based on selective multistep photoionization of an uranium atomic vapor stream, the development of this process in France, has stimulated intensive studies in the field of uranium spectroscopy

Studying ignition schemes on European laser facilities

Demonstrating ignition and net energy gain in the near future on MJ-class laser facilities will be a major step towards determining the feasibility of Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE), in Europe as in the United States. The current status of the French Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) programme, from the laser facility construction to the indirectly driven central ignition target design, is presented, as well as validating experimental campaigns, conducted, as part of this programme, on various laser facilities. However, the viability of the IFE approach strongly depends on our ability to address the salient questions related to efficiency of the target design and laser driver performances. In the overall framework of the European HiPER project, two alternative schemes both relying on decoupling target compression and fuel heating-fast ignition (FI) and shock ignition (SI)-are currently considered. After a brief presentation of the HiPER project's objectives, FI and SI target designs are discussed. Theoretical analysis and 2D simulations will help to understand the unresolved key issues of the two schemes. Finally, the on-going European experimental effort to demonstrate their viability on currently operated laser facilities is described

Overview of on-going LIL experiments

The Ligne d'Integration Laser (LIL) facility has been designed as a prototype for the Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) which is a cornerstone of the French 'Simulation Program'. This laser has been intensively used to test and improve the LMJ components. In addition, a large panel of plasma diagnostics has been installed and is currently used to perform laser-plasma experiments. After a brief discussion about the LIL design, we present the last results in various plasma physics domains.</p