Editing Timeline of nuclear fusion (section)

==1990s==
* '''1990'''
** Decision to construct the [[National Ignition Facility]] "beamlet" laser at LLNL is made.
* '''1991'''
** The [[Small Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak|START]] Tokamak fusion experiment begins in [[Culham]]. The experiment would eventually achieve a record [[Fusion power#Beta|beta]] (plasma pressure compared to magnetic field pressure) of 40% using a [[neutral beam injector]]. It was the first design that adapted the conventional toroidal fusion experiments into a tighter spherical design.
** The [[JT-60]] tokamak was upgraded to [[JT-60#JT-60U (Upgrade)|JT-60U]] in March.<ref>{{Cite report |title=Annual report of the Naka Fusion Research Establishment for the period of April 1, 1990 to March 31, 1991 |author1=那珂研究所 |date=1991 |publisher=日本原子力研究開発機構 |doi=10.11484/jaeri-m-91-159 |language=ja}}</ref>
** On November 9, the [[Joint European Torus|JET]] tokamak achieves '''the first 50-50 mix deuterium-tritium fusion experiments via magnetic confinement'''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rebut |first1=P-H |year=1992 |title=The JET preliminary tritium experiment |journal=Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion |volume=34 |issue=13 |pages=1749–1758 |bibcode=1992PPCF...34.1749R |doi=10.1088/0741-3335/34/13/002 |s2cid=250880054}}</ref>
* '''1992'''
** The Engineering Design Activity for the [[ITER]] starts with participants [[EURATOM]], Japan, Russia and United States. It ended in 2001.
** The United States and the former republics of the Soviet Union cease nuclear weapons testing.
* '''1993'''
** The [[TFTR]] tokamak at [[Princeton University|Princeton]] (PPPL) experiments with a 50% [[deuterium]], 50% [[tritium]] mix, eventually producing as much as 10 megawatts of power from a controlled fusion reaction.
* '''1994'''
** NIF Beamlet laser is completed and begins experiments validating the expected performance of NIF.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
** The USA declassifies information about indirectly driven (hohlraum) target design.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
** Comprehensive European-based study of HIF driver begins, centered at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) and involving 14 laboratories, including USA and Russia. The Heavy Ion Driven Inertial Fusion (HIDIF) study will be completed in 1997.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
* '''1996'''
** A record is reached at [[Tore Supra]]: a plasma duration of two minutes with a current of almost 1 million amperes driven non-inductively by 2.3 MW of [[Lower hybrid oscillation|lower hybrid frequency waves]] (i.e. 280 MJ of injected and extracted energy). This result was possible due to the actively cooled plasma-facing components installed in the machine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-drfc.cea.fr/gb/cea/ts/ts.htm |title=Tore Supra |access-date=February 3, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115112229/http://www-drfc.cea.fr/gb/cea/ts/ts.htm |archive-date=November 15, 2012 }}</ref>
** On 31 October, the [[JT-60|JT-60U]] tokamak achieves '''the first [[Fusion energy gain factor#Extrapolated breakeven|extrapolated breakeven]]''' at ''Q''{{sub|DT}}{{sup|eq}} = 1.05.
** The [[Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty]] is signed, ending weapons testing by almost all nuclear states. ICF experiments and supercomputer simulation gain funding under the US [[Stockpile stewardship|Science-Based Stockpile Stewardship]] and similar programs.
* '''1997'''
** The [[Joint European Torus|JET]] tokamak in the UK produces 16 MW of fusion power - this remains the world record for fusion power until 2022 when JET sets an even higher record. Four megawatts of [[alpha particle]] self-heating was achieved.
** LLNL study compared projected costs of power from ICF and other fusion approaches to the projected future costs of existing energy sources.
** [[National Ignition Facility]]: Groundbreaking ceremony
* '''1998'''
** The [[JT-60|JT-60U]] tokamak achieves an [[Fusion energy gain factor#Extrapolated breakeven|extrapolated breakeven]] of ''Q''{{sub|DT}}{{sup|eq}} = 1.25, the current world record.
** Results of European-based study of heavy ion driven fusion power system (HIDIF, GSI-98-06) incorporates telescoping beams of multiple isotopic species. This technique multiplies the 6-D phase space usable for the design of HIF drivers.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
* '''1999'''
** The United States withdraws from the [[ITER]] project.
** The [[Small Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak|START]] experiment is succeeded by [[Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak|MAST]].