Pyroelectric fusion has previously been observed in erbium hydrides. A high-energy beam of deuterium ions generated by pyroelectric crystals was directed at a stationary, room-temperature  or  target, and fusion was observed.
In previous fusion research, such as inertial confinement fusion (ICF), fuel such as the rarer tritium is subjected to high pressure for a nano-second interval, triggering fusion. In magnetic confinement fusion (MCF), the fuel is heated in a plasma to temperatures much higher than those at the center of the Sun. In LCF, conditions sufficient for fusion are created in a metal lattice that is held at ambient temperature during exposure to high-energy photons. ICF devices momentarily reach densities of 10 cc, while MCF devices momentarily achieve 10.
Lattice confinement fusion requires energetic deuterons and is therefore not cold fusion.
Lattice confinement fusion is used as a method to increase the cathode fuel density of inertial electrostatic fusion devices such as a Farnsworth-Hirsch fusor. This increases the probability of fusion events occurring and therefore the radiation output produced. In applications where fusors are used as X-ray, neutron, or proton radiation source, lattice confinement fusion improves the energy efficiency of the device.