LLNL Opens New Hands-On Laser Safety Training Facility

A new training facility affords the ability for LLNL laser safety officers to move beyond textbooks to hands-on training.

Research Sheds New Light on Laser Polarization Effects in NIF Experiments

LLNL researchers found that changing NIF laser polarization could reduce crossed-beam energy transfer and backscatter, potentially improving optic resilience and enabling higher-power operation.

LLNL Hosts Laser Safety Officer Workshop

Laser safety officers and health and safety professionals gathered at LLNL for a Department of Energy (DOE) Laser Safety Officer (LSO) Workshop, to exchange insights, strengthen best practices, and discuss their evolving challenges.

Meet the Machines That Matter: The Optics Inspector

What can spot a flaw smaller than a speck of dust from eight meters away, works tirelessly in a vacuum, and is essential to national security experiments at NIF? Meet FODI. Meet the Final Optics Damage Inspection system, or FODI.

LLNL Partners with Inertia to Develop Fusion Energy Technology

Scientists from LLNL are partnering with San Francisco Bay Area startup Inertia Enterprises Inc. to advance fusion laser technology, as well as inertial fusion target manufacturing and designs.

NNSA and LLNL Advance Laser Upgrade for Nuclear Stockpile Mission Ahead of Schedule

The Energy Department and the NNSA have approved a path forward for a project that will increase the laser energy available to NIF at LLNL.

NIF and JLF User Groups Celebrate Milestones and New Capabilities

New laser shaping and diagnostic tools, record fusion achievements, and growing industry partnerships that enhance national security and Discovery Science research were highlighted at the 2026 NIF and Jupiter Laser Facility User Groups meeting.

LLNL Physicist Finds Beauty, Peace, and Flow in Nordic Skiing

From dialing in ski wax and stride timing to shaping laser pulses at NIF, LLNL physicist Jean-Michel Di Nicola knows how Nordic skiing and inertial confinement fusion can both depend on maximizing energy and precision timing.

Advanced Radiographic Capability Achievements Featured in Physics of Plasmas

On the cover of Physics of Plasmas: NIF is the hottest place on earth for the briefest of moments during an experiment. Now, it can be one of the brightest places thanks to ARC, NIF’s laser-within-the laser.

Lab Physicist Wins Sylvie Jacquemot Early Career Prize

LLNL scientist Elizabeth Grace won the 2026 European Physical Society-Plasma Physics Division Sylvie Jacquemot Early Career Prize for groundbreaking work in developing a single-shot laser imaging technique.

When Lasers Cross: LLNL Finds a Brighter Way to Measure Plasma

LLNL scientists have tested a new crossed-laser technique that measures plasma conditions in a single shot, with signals more than a billion times stronger than traditional Thomson scattering.

LLNL and Fraunhofer ILT Partner on Next-Generation Fusion Lasers

LLNL and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT) are joining forces to cross-validate their sophisticated laser simulation models.

Where Beam Paths and Career Paths Intersect

As a laser safety officer, Hayden Johnson knows the location and handling protocols for hundreds of lasers across the Lab. Here's why serving in this role is especially fulfilling.

Vincent Tang Returns to Lead NIF&PS Directorate

LLNL Director Kim Budil named Vincent Tang as the principal associate director (PAD) to lead the NIF and Photon Science directorate.

Using AI for Real-Time Control of Rapid-Fire Lasers

In a major step forward for HED science and inertial fusion energy, LLNL researchers and their colleagues demonstrated how machine learning and AI could exert instantaneous control of a rapid-fire laser system.

HEDS Fellow Patricia Cho Probes Cosmic Mysteries

For Patricia Cho, an experimental physicist who is conducting opacity measurement experiments at NIF, a High Energy Density Science Center fellowship allowed her to branch out from her Ph.D. work to explore new areas of astrophysics.

Big Ideas Lab Podcast Delves into Advanced Lasers

The latest episode of the Big Ideas Lab podcast explores advanced lasers — the challenges and their potential.

LLNL Receives Energy Department Funding for Fusion Energy Research

The U.S. Department of Energy announced $134 million in funding for two programs designed to secure U.S. leadership in emerging fusion technologies and innovation: FIRE and INFUSE.

New Book Documents Optics Innovations That Were Integral to Ignition

Just published: In Optic Technologies Enabling Fusion Ignition, veteran LLNL optics and laser experts tell the comprehensive story of how they were able to push the performance of those optics beyond what many thought was possible.

Big Ideas Lab Podcast Looks Back at the Laser Guide Star

Late one evening about 30 years ago, a beam of light that shot into the sky from LLNL started a revolution in astronomy. The latest episode of LLNL’s Big Ideas Lab Podcast delves into this fascinating history.