Franklin Dollar, a University of California, Irvine, professor of physics and astronomy, presents his research during a poster session at this year’s NIF-JLF User Groups Meeting in Livermore. Photos by Jason Laurea
(Download Image)NIF and JLF User Groups Celebrate Milestones and New Capabilities
New laser shaping and diagnostic tools, record fusion achievements, and growing industry partnerships that will enhance national security and next-generation Discovery Science research were highlighted at this year’s joint meeting of the NIF and Jupiter Laser Facility User Groups.
The meeting drew more than 150 scientists, researchers, students, industry partners, and others who use Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) two renowned laser facilities—the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF)—for a range of fundamental scientific experiments.
NIF and Photon Science Principal Associate Director Vincent Tang, addressing the user groups for the first time in his new role, outlined “another really outstanding year” for NIF.
“We’re now firmly in the age of ignition,” Tang said. “Ignition shots on NIF are never going to be easy because we're always trying to push the boundaries. But we're really starting to get in the groove of it, with multiple repeats, a record yield of 8.6 megajoules (MJ), and target gain greater than 4 since we last met.”
The attendees, representing 54 institutions in the U.S., United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Canada, came to Livermore for the meeting, held Feb. 10-12 at Garré Vineyard & Winery’s Bella Rosa conference center.
Tang noted there is a “virtuous circle” connecting the Discovery Science accomplished by members of the NIF and JLF user groups that also benefits national security and technological innovation.
Once an elusive goal, fusion ignition—where the energy output from a laser-driven capsule exceeds the energy input—has now become a repeatable achievement. Since the last user meeting, NIF has produced multiple ignition shots. These results are not just scientific milestones; they are actively informing the nation’s nuclear deterrence strategy and opening new avenues for fusion energy research.
The past year also saw the launch of the Livermore Institute for Fusion Technology (LIFT), an outgrowth of LLNL’s longstanding fusion energy initiative. LIFT aims to unite laboratory researchers, industry partners, and academic collaborators. The institute is designed to accelerate progress toward practical fusion energy while maintaining LLNL’s leadership in national security applications.
“LIFT formalizes our lab’s commitment to making fusion energy a reality,” Tang said. “It’s about working in partnership with the private sector and the wider community, covering not just inertial fusion but the full range of fusion energy science and technology.”
Artificial intelligence is also playing an increasing role in facility operations and data analysis. Pat Falcone, LLNL’s deputy director for Science and Technology, referenced the Department of Energy’s new Genesis Mission in AI, which aims to optimize experimental design and extract deeper insights from massive datasets.
“Advanced tools and data-driven approaches are important,” Falcone said. “We are excited about the work that’s already been done and is continuing to shape not only fusion energy and NIF but also using AI to optimize shots and extract deeper insights.”
NIF Director Gordon Brunton outlined progress on ongoing projects that focus on sustaining and increasing the performance of NIF to support its core deterrence mission for all users through the next two decades.
Those projects include a NIF sustainment plan to refurbish or replace key components to restore performance and ensure operational robustness through the 2040s, and the Enhanced Yield Capability (EYC) project— an exciting new project beginning this year that will increase NIF’s laser energy by 20 percent, enabling new target designs with the promise of increasing fusion yields to 30 MJ and beyond (see “Enhanced Yield Capability Proposal Aims to Boost NIF Yield”).
“All of this is contributing to the advancements of the technologies of NIF as well as the science which many of you contribute to,” Brunton said.
While NIF serves as LLNL’s ignition platform, JLF is a hands‑on, user‑driven lab where teams can try new ideas, test diagnostics, and train the next generation of HED scientists. Often, ideas first proven at JLF end up implemented at NIF.
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s Benjamin Ofori-Okai, the outgoing chair of the JLF User Group, said recent JLF refurbishments have enabled “a whole host of experiments that are pushing the boundaries of high energy density science.”
“Over the last 20 years, the number of users of JLF has tripled, and the work that’s been done there has been responsible for a hundred Ph.D.s’ worth of students getting their doctorates,” said Ofori-Okai, a Stanford assistant professor of photon science.
JLF Director Félicie Albert provided updates on the intermediate-scale laser facility, part of the Lab’s Physical and Life Sciences Directorate. JLF, a member of the LaserNetUS network of high-power laser research facilities, hosted 14 Discovery Science experiments from 80 researchers representing various institutions.
“We’ve had an awesome year, thanks to many partnerships across the Laboratory and also with you, the community,” Albert said.
In January 2025, JLF commissioned STILETTO (Space-Time Induced Linearly Encoded Transcription for Temporal Optimization) advanced technology that lets scientists shape laser pulses in sophisticated and exquisite ways. STILETTO’s first experiment provided proof of a new way to measure plasma conditions, which was detailed in research published in late 2025 in the science journal Physical Review Letters (see “When Lasers Cross: LLNL Finds a Brighter Way to Measure Plasma”).
STILETTO “is now ready for users and the possibilities are endless,” Albert said. “So come with your ideas. Let us know what you want and we'll make it happen with STILETTO.”
Looking forward, LLNL is planning further investments that bridge fundamental physics and applications. A new thulium‑based laser, funded through the Department of Energy Office of Science’s Microelectronics Science Research Centers, is planned to be installed in a renovated JLF annex next to the Titan laser system.
That project is exploring the next evolution of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, which is the foundation of modern semiconductor manufacturing, using the LLNL-developed high-repetition-rate Big Aperture Thulium (BAT) laser (see “LLNL Selected to Lead Next-Gen Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Research”).
“We're really excited to work with NIF and Photon Science to bring you a new capability at JLF,” Albert said. “As I will keep saying, JLF is the place for new talents, new ideas, and for great science.”
Albert also screened a new animated video that’s part of JLF’s enhanced public outreach efforts. The video follows the journey of JLF’s three beamlines—two nanosecond, kilojoule-scale, long-pulse beams and one short-pulse beam with 0.7 to 10 picosecond pulses and energies up to 300 joules—that can deliver high-energy pulses to Janus or Titan depending on the experimental configuration.
The NIF-JLF meeting also furthered scientific exchange and collaboration with its annual poster sessions, sponsored by conference sponsors Sydor Technologies, Prism Computational Sciences, and Luxel. The sessions featured about 60 posters and the poster contest winners were:
- Hakhyeon (Henry) Kim, a University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics graduate student, for “A Brighter Continuum Hard X-Ray Source.”
- Ethan Smith, a University of Rochester graduate student, for “Equation of State Measurements in Gigabar Plasmas.”
- Nick Swartz, a postdoctoral researcher from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for “Moderated Neutron Target (MONET) Platform for Discovery Science.”
This year’s NIF-JLF Users Meeting was successful because it brought together the NIF and JLF user communities to share results, align on upcoming opportunities, and highlight the premier, world-leading high energy density science enabled by NIF and JLF, said Acting NIF User Office Director Dayne Fratanduono.
“This meeting showcased the breadth of outstanding science our users are delivering on NIF and JLF, and it strengthened connections across the community so we can continue executing high-impact campaigns and pushing capability,” Fratanduono said. “These world-leading HED science capabilities are a cornerstone of our national security mission and the nuclear deterrent.”
Fratanduono thanked Kevin Fournier for his many years of service as NIF User Office director and noted that Fournier is now serving on the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Science Council, reporting to the deputy administrator for defense programs.
Fratanduono also thanked the NIF User Office team—Katie Mathisen, Rachel Ghilarducci, and Katlyn Pico—for organizing the meeting.
More Information:
Jupiter Laser Facility User Hub
"Prominence of LLNL Laser Science on Display at NIF-JLF User Groups Meeting," NIF & Photon Science News, March 13, 2025
“Ignition Takes Center Stage at NIF and JLF User Groups Meeting,” NIF & Photon Science News, April 10, 2024
“NIF and JLF User Groups Look Beyond Ignition to Bright Possibilities in Science,” NIF & Photon Science News, May 4, 2023
“LLNL’s NIF Delivers Record Laser Energy,” NIF & Photon Science News, November 16, 2023
“NIF and JLF User Groups Cite HED Science Successes Amid Pandemic,” NIF & Photon Science News, March 15, 2022
Follow us on X: @lasers_llnl
