STATUS OF THE HIDIF STUDY

The HIDIF study dating from 1994 explores the use of ac-celerated heavy ion beams as a driving mechanism for in-ertial confinement fusion. Representatives of several Eu-ropean laboratories, headed by the centre for heavy ion re-search, GSI, at Darmstadt, Germany, have collaborated to develop a self-consistent scheme based mainly on existing levels of technological expertise. The aim is to demon-strate the feasibility of an RF linac-compressor ring system for igniting an indirectly-driven deuterium-tritium target at a high repetition rate. The design is modular, which en-ables different aspects of the scheme to be investigated in-dependently and provides the flexibility needed to respond to new ideas and future developments. Crucial issues in-clude beam loss, the control of emittance and beam be-haviour under current multiplication and space charge ef-fects, while the need for further target development is be-coming increasingly important. An overview of the study is presented and the status of research in the main aspects of the system discussed. Alternative ideas under consider-ation by the HIDIF group are also mentioned.