Flexible Driver Laser for Inertial Fusion Energy

A laser fusion system comprising:

• a plurality of at least four pulsed lasers that emit laser pulses that irradiate a target;
• and
• a laser controller configured to control the plurality of at least four pulsed lasers to irradiate the target within a same time window of less than about 100 ns;
• wherein:
• at least four of the plurality of at least four pulsed lasers are configured to have different central optical frequencies such that the central optical frequencies of their respective emitted laser pulses differ by more than 1 THz;
• and
• the central optical frequency of each of the plurality of pulsed lasers is configured to be correlated with a direction of propagation toward the target of the corresponding laser pulses to contribute to an increased uniformity in a k-space representation of a local electric field of a laser drive at the target.

A laser fusion system comprising:

• a plurality of at least four pulsed lasers that emit laser pulses toward a target;
• wherein:
• at least four of the plurality of at least four pulsed lasers are configured to have central optical frequencies that respectively differ by more than about 1 THz;
• the central optical frequency of each of the plurality of pulsed lasers are configured to be correlated with a direction of propagation toward the target of the corresponding laser pulses to contribute to an increased uniformity in a k-space representation of a local electric field of a laser drive at the target;
• the laser pulses from each of the plurality of pulsed lasers are configured to irradiate the target from a different direction;
• and
• the plurality of pulsed lasers are configured to irradiate the target with a laser pulse within a same time window of less than about 100 ns.

A laser fusion system for driving an inertial confinement fusion reaction at a target, the system comprising:

• a plurality of at least four pulsed lasers configured to emit a plurality of at least four laser pulses therefrom, respectively;
• wherein:
• at least four of the plurality of pulsed lasers are configured to have central optical frequencies different from each other by more than about 1 THz;
• each of the plurality of laser pulses from a different pulsed laser is configured to be directed along a different propagation direction such that all of the plurality of laser pulses irradiate different portions of the target within a same time window of less than about 100 ns;
• and
• the plurality of pulsed lasers are configured to have central optical frequencies correlated with the respective propagation direction of the corresponding laser pulses toward the target to contribute to an increased uniformity in a k-space representation of a local electric field of a laser drive at the target.