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Based on five technical advances at LLNL and a new systems‐analysis code that we have written, we present conceptual designs for diode‐pumped solid‐state laser (DPSSL) drivers for Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) power plants. Such designs are based on detailed physics calculations for the driver, and on generic scaling relationships for the reactor and balance of plant (BOP). We describe the performance and economics of such power plants, show how sensitive these results are to changes in the major parameters, and indicate how technological improvements can make DPSSL‐driven IFE plants more competitive.

New high‐energy cosmic‐ray Be data indicate that the ratio Be7/Be drops by approximately a factor of two between 200 and 1500 MeV/nucleon. This result may provide a severe constraint for theories of cosmic‐ray acceleration.