Wereviewthepresentstatusandfutureprospectsoffastignition(FI)researchofthetheoreticalgroupattheIAPCM(InstituteofAppliedPhysicsandComputationalMathematics,Beijing)asapartoftheinertialconfinementfusionproject.SincetheapprovaloftheFIprojectattheIAPCM,wehavedevotedoureffortstoimprovingtheintegratedcodesforFIanddesigningadvancedtargetstogetherwiththeexperimentalgroup.RecentFIexperiments[K.U.Aklietal.,Phys.Rev.E86,065402(2012)]showedthatthepetawattlaserbeamenergywasnotefficientlyconvertedintothecompressedcorebecauseofthebeampergenceofrelativisticelectronbeams.Thecouplingefficiencycanbeimprovedinthreeways:(1)usingacone–wire-in-shelladvancedtargettoenhancethetransportefficiency,(2)usingexternalmagneticfieldstocollimatefastelectrons,and(3)reducingtheprepulselevelofthepetawattlaserbeam.TheintegratedcodesforFI,namedICFI,includingaradiationhydrodynamiccode,aparticle-in-cell(PIC)simulationcode,andahybridfluid–PICcode,havebeendevelopedtodesignthisadvancedtargetattheIAPCM.TheShenguang-IIupgradedlaserfacilityhasbeenconstructedforFIresearch;itconsistsofeightbeams(intotal24kJ/3ω,3ns)forimplosioncompression,andaheatinglaserbeam(0.5–1kJ,3–5ps)forgeneratingtherelativisticelectronbeam.AfullyintegratedFIexperimentisscheduledforthe2014project.
