Optimal Liner Material for Near Term Magnetized Liner Fusion Experiments

Substantial fusion yields are predicted with existing pulsed power machines driving cylindrical liner implosions with preheated and magnetized deuterium-tritium [S.A. Slutz et al Phys. Plasmas 17, 056303 (2010)]. Experiments are planned using the Z accelerator to drive these implosions. However, the peak current, the laser heating energy, and the applied magnetic field will be less than optimal. We present simulations which show, that under these conditions, the yield can be improved significantly by decreasing the density of the liner material, e.g. Lithium substituted for Beryllium. Furthermore, the simulations show that decreasing the liner density allows the use of very low aspect ratio (R/$\Delta $R) liners, while still obtaining interesting yields. Low aspect ratio liners should be more robust to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability.