From Ignition in the Laboratory to Fusion Energy

LLNL physicist Dan Casey outlined the challenges involved in moving from the achievement of fusion ignition at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility to practical inertial fusion energy at a recent Kavli Frontiers of Science symposium in Kyoto, Japan.

LLNL Creates World’s Brightest X-Ray Source with NIF and Novel Metal Foams

By combining NIF's laser and ultra-light metal foams, LLNL researchers have produced the brightest x-ray source to date — about twice as bright as previous solid metal versions. The team's work was recently published in Physical Review E.

NIF&PS Intern Brings New Perspectives to NIF

Marie Durivaux was a unique choice for an internship to develop additional tools and further analyze laser beam quality at NIF.

The Power of Partnerships: How LLNL Laser Technology is Transforming Industrial Manufacturing

Research done by LLNL’s laser science and technology program in the late 1990s is an example of how LLNL’s mission-focused work advancing national security can lead to technology spin-offs with commercial importance through the Lab’s Innovation and Partnerships Office.

LLNL Selected to Lead Next-Gen Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Research

The Department of Energy has selected a new research partnership led by LLNL that aims to lay the groundwork for the next evolution of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, centered around a Lab-developed system dubbed the BAT laser.

A Look Back at the First Inertial Confinement Fusion Experiment in 1974

Fifty years ago in December 1974, LLNL’s inertial confinement fusion program blasted a glass ball so tiny it was hardly visible to the human eye. The experiment was small, but the result was enormous.

John H. Nuckolls Receives Enrico Fermi Presidential Award

The Biden-Harris Administration has recognized former LLNL Director John Nuckolls with the Enrico Fermi Award for "seminal leadership in inertial confinement fusion and high energy density physics."

The Fire That Powers the Universe: Harnessing Inertial Fusion Energy

It was a laser shot for the ages. By achieving fusion ignition on December 5, 2022, LLNL proved that recreating the “fire” that fuels the sun and the stars inside a laboratory on Earth was indeed scientifically possible.