Low-Density-Plastic-Foam Capsule of Resorcinol/Formalin and (Phloroglucinolcarboxylic Acid)/Formalin Resins for Fast-Ignition Realization Experiment (FIREX) in Laser Fusion Research

Abstract

In this report, we describe fuel (deuterium and tritium) capsule preparation for the fast-ignition realization experiment (FIREX) in laser fusion research. The required diameter and thickness of the capsule are 500 and 20 µm, respectively. The material should be plastics with low-density foam. We have prepared such a capsule using (1) a new material of (phloroglucinolcarboxylic acid)/formalin resin to control the kinematic viscosity of the precursor, (2) the phase-transfer-catalyzed gelation process to maintain the density matching of the emulsion. The obtained foam capsule had a fine structure of 180 nm (outer surface) to 220 nm (inner surface) size and a uniform thickness reaching the resolution limit of optical analysis (∼0.5 µm).