Perspectives in laser-driven inertial fusion reactor system

For the first time in any fusion approach, a target gain greater than one was achieved on 5 December 2022 at the National Ignition Facility using lasers in an indirect drive configuration. This breakthrough has been repeated seven times since, making fusion a possibility rather than a concept. Inertial fusion for energy production and power plant design is now gaining credibility. In this paper, we present a historical overview of major discoveries that brought this momentum. We detail the fundamental principles of these reactors, emphasizing the key challenges and obstacles in their development. We analyze various reactor figures of merit and discuss different hydro-scaled target designs, exploring different ignition schemes.