Current Progress in NIF Target Concepts

Target concepts for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) require progress in the art and science of target fabrication. Three distinct issues are addressed in the work being described in this paper. They are (1) beryllium fuel capsules, (2) foam-buffered direct drive, and (3) high density gas-filled hohlraums. In all cases experiments on the existing Nova laser at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are either in progress or planned for the near future to test the various concepts. Consequently target fabrication must be able to deliver targets appropriate for each.