The electra laser: hibachi development and electron beam deposition

Summary form only given, as follows. Electra is a repetitively pulsed, electron beam pumped krypton fluoride (KrF) laser that will be used to develop the technology required for internal fusion energy (IFE). The hibachi structure supports a thin foil that isolates the laser gas at 1.3 to 2 atmospheres from the vacuum of the electron beam diode. Several hibachi designs have been evaluated. The 30 cm deep laser cell is pumped by a 30 cm/spl times/100 cm electron beam. Faraday cups measure the transmission efficiency of the 500 keV, 100 kA, 100 nsec electron beam into the laser gas and radiachromic film detects the spatial uniformity of the e-beam. The energy deposition profile inside the laser cell is measured with Faraday cups and simulated with 1-D and 3-D codes. In addition, computational fluid dynamics analysis is performed to simulate the heat loading of the hibachi foil and ribs.