人类首次实现聚变“点火”,激光聚变取得历史性突破

2022年12月13日，美国能源部(DOE)及其下属的国家核安全管理局(NNSA)宣布，劳伦斯利弗莫尔国家实验室(LLNL)利用其建立的国家“点火”装置(NIF),在人类历史上首次实现了聚变产能大于驱动聚变发生的激光能量这一“点火”里程碑，将为美国核武器物理规律和效应研究、核武器库存管理等提供重要支撑，为未来清洁能源的发展铺平新的道路，并为高能量密度物理研究提供新的手段和平台。本文专访了中国工程物理研究院激光聚变研究中心郑万国研究员，就发布会传递信息、惯性约束聚变(ICF)实现途径及存在难点、激光聚变“点火”历程、未来ICF和惯性聚变能(IFE)发展前景，以及激光晶体在ICF和IFE中重要作用等业界广泛关心的几个问题进行解读，以期为读者提供专业的信息，使大家进一步了解ICF发展趋势和IFE发展前景，并针对相关晶体材料开展基础研究及关键技术攻关，牵引和支撑未来激光聚变驱动装置建设。

An Exclusive Interview with ZHENG Wanguo on the “Ignition” Milestone in Human History

On December 13, 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) first achieved the fusion output energy larger than the driving fusion laser energy by its National Ignition Facility (NIF), which was the “ignition” milestone in human history. The most considerable scientific breakthrough in decades provides significant support for national defense security and the development of clean energy. This article reports the interpretation of the difficulties of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) by interviewing professor ZHENG Wanguo, a senior researcher at the Laser Fusion Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics, including the paths to achieve “ignition”, the ignition process of laser fusion, the future development of ICF or inertial fusion energy (IFE), the important role of laser crystals in ICF or IFE and other issues of widespread concern. The professional information may help us to learn more about the development trend of ICF and IFE,and carry out the basic and key technology researches on crystalline materials to support the construction of laser drive devices in the future.