We report the production of highly spin-polarized Deuterium atoms via photodissociation of deuterium iodide at 270 nm. The velocity distribution of both the deuterium and iodine photodissociation products is performed via velocity mapping slice-imaging. Additionally, the angular momentum polarization of the iodine products is studied using polarization-sensitive ionization schemes. The results are consistent with excitation of the $A^1Pi_1$ state followed by adiabatic dissociation. The process produces $sim$100% electronically polarized deuterium atoms at the time of dissociation, which is then converted to $sim 60%$ nuclear D polarization after $sim 1.6$ ns. These production times for hyperpolarized deuterium allow collision-limited densities of $sim 10^{18}$ cm$^{-3}$, which is $sim 10^6$ times higher than conventional (Stern-Gerlach separation) methods. We discuss how such high-density hyperpolarized deuterium atoms can be combined with laser fusion to measure polarized D-D fusion cross sections.
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