Small-scale targets for heavy-ion driven inertial confinement fusion experiments

Implosion regimes of small-scale targets directly driven by heavy ion beams are analyzed. Two main different performances are identified: the first one leading to high-density final states at moderate temperatures and short confinement times; the second one producing a hot spark limited to the very central zone of the fuel, the density and the optical thickness remaining very low. Transition between both regimes happens through stagnated compressed fuels where the compression efficiency is very poor.