Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory




NIF’s Optics Meet the Demands of Increased Laser Energy

Part 5: Hardening NIF’s optics to withstand ever-increasing laser energy and the debris caused by experiments was another key to achieving ignition (For previous stories, see The Age of Ignition: Inside NIF’s Fusion Breakthrough).






Power, Finesse Drove Ignition Success

Part 4: To achieve fusion ignition, NIF’s laser system needed to operate flawlessly at both ends of the performance spectrum.

Ignition a ‘Hot Topic’ at Photonics West

A standing-room-only crowd at the recent SPIE Photonics West convention listened raptly to a presentation about how fusion ignition was achieved at NIF.

‘BAT Laser’ R&D Delivers Big Results

LLNL’s research and development of the Big Aperture Thulium (BAT) laser has been living up to its name, delivering big results in a small package.

IAEA Webinar Explores Fusion Ignition

ICF Chief Scientist Omar Hurricane described the research leading to NIF’s fusion ignition milestone in an International Atomic Energy Agency webinar.

U.S. Has Opportunity to Lead IFE Research

A newly released report finds the historic fusion ignition achievement gives the U.S. a “unique opportunity” to further lead the pursuit of inertial fusion energy.

NIF Achieves Fusion Ignition

The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration announced the achievement of fusion ignition at NIF on Dec. 5.

Video: The Beamline to Ignition

Follow the journey of NIF’s laser beams as they dramatically increase in energy on their way to the center of the Target Chamber.