Automated Target Measurements Contribute to LLNL's Ignition Success

An advanced technique for characterizing high-quality target capsules for NIF experiments has played an important role in LLNL's recent success in repeatedly achieving fusion ignition.

LLNL Intern Applies Lessons Learned from Home, Family

Brianna Barbee is taking a childhood lesson from her mother to heart—and it figured into her summer internship at LLNL.

Lab Scientists Win Three R&D 100 Awards

LLNL scientists and engineers, including a team from the NIF & Photon Science Diffractive Optics Group, have earned three awards among the top 100 inventions worldwide.

SPIE Names LLNL’s Zhi Liao a Senior Member

LLNL's Zhi Liao, the NIF&PS workforce manager, has been elected as a senior member of SPIE, the international society for optics and phonics.

A New Dimension of Glass

Scientists and engineers from NIF&PS and Physical and Life Sciences developed a process for generating trillions of nanoscale structures on meter-scale glass surfaces. Read the full story in Science & Technology Review.

Two LLNL Researchers Named to Optica’s 2024 Class of Senior Members

Paul Armstrong, a NIF&PS engineer, and Brent Stuart, operations manager for the Jupiter Laser Facility, have been named senior members of Optica.

Research Confirms Importance of Symmetry in Pre-Ignition Fusion Experiments

LLNL researchers have retrospectively confirmed that implosion asymmetry was a major aspect for fusion experiments before achieving ignition for the first time at NIF, the world’s most energetic laser.

Putting the Squeeze on Helium

Researchers are developing a way to “precompress” helium under very high pressure, then blasting it with NIF’s lasers to compress it even further. They want to learn the roles of density and temperature in converting liquid helium from an insulator to a metallic substance able to conduct electricity.