Fig. 1. (a) Laser beams irradiating the hohlraum enclosing and the DT-filled capsule at the NIF (image courtesy of the LLNL). (b) Sequence of four stages of the ICF process in the indirect-drive scheme: (i) irradiation of the spherical capsule by X-rays; (ii) ablation of the outer part of the capsule and implosion of the DT fuel; (iii) ignition of the fusion reactions in the central hot spot; (iv) combustion of the compressed fuel and energy release.

Fig. 2. HiPER original concept of the ICF power plant (adapted from Ref. [10]).

Fig. 3. (a) Laser power temporal profile in the direct-drive shock ignition scheme. (b) Laser temporal profile in the shock-augmented ignition approach and the scheme of the capsule (adapted from Ref. [63]).

Fig. 4. Four stages of direct-drive ignition and the main challenges: (a) laser capsule interaction and energy coupling; (b) the shell inward acceleration – hydrodynamic and parametric instabilities; (c) shell deceleration phase, hot-spot formation and material mix; (d) ignition of fusion reactions and burn propagation (adapted from Ref. [72]).

Fig. 5. Microscopic views of foams produced by chemical polymerization (a) and two-photon polymerization laser lithography (b) for ICF studies (adapted from Ref. [79]).

Fig. 6. (a) Schematic view of the DiPOLE cryogenically cooled, multi-slab amplifier head^[90]. (b) A 3.6 kW diode stack for pumping Yb:YAG pulsed high-energy class solid-state lasers^[91].

Fig. 7. Compilation of the measured amplitudes of EMP signals at different laser installations. The blue and red zones outline the data obtained with ps and ns laser pulses. All data were normalized to the reference distance of 1 m from the source. Values for the ABC, XG-III and LMJ experiments were obtained at distances 0.085, 0.4 and 4 m from the target, respectively. The normalization might produce a field overestimation of a few times (adapted from Ref. [46]).