Big Ideas Lab Podcast Takes on Tech Spinoffs and Partnerships

The Big Ideas Lab podcast takes a deep dive into how the Innovation and Partnerships Office (IPO) facilitates tech transfer at LLNL and some of the most impactful success stories, including one startup inspired by research into protecting NIF's optical components from laser damage.

Big Ideas Lab Podcast Explores the Future of Fusion Energy

In the latest episode of “The Big Ideas Lab” podcast, learn the next steps needed to turn the dream of fusion energy into reality.

Ride the Optics Recycle Loop with the Big Ideas Lab Podcast

NIF was designed and built in a way to manage some level of laser damage on the optics nearly every time the laser fires. In this Big Ideas Lab Podcast episode, we take a ride along this Optics Recycle Loop of continuous innovation and ingenuity.

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.

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.

Meet NIF&PS: Mechanical Engineer Eddie Jimenez

For many LLNL employees like Eddie Jimenez, working at the Lab is a dream fulfilled. Jimenez is a senior mechanical engineer in the Engineering directorate, matrixed to NIF&PS.

New Plasma Switch Cleans the Pulses in High-Power Lasers

Researchers have developed and tested an innovative plasma optic that “cleans” a high-power laser pulse by diffracting away potentially damaging pre-pulses, then rapidly switching to let the main pulse through to the target.

Shreds With the Best of Them

Gary Tham, a NIF optical fabrication technician, hadn't gone mountain biking for about 27 years. Here's how he rekindled his passion for the sport.

Spot-Shadowing Damage on Laser Optics

Technology named Laser Energy Optimization by Precision Adjustments to the Radiant Distribution (LEOPARD) enhances the performance of NIF.

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.

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.

Celebrating World Intellectual Property Day

The NIF and Photon Science directorate has a strong portfolio of lasers and optics patents.

More Shots, More Potential for Success

NIF stands to gain from a Laboratory Directed Research and Development project to explore ultrawide bandgap photoconductive devices.

Enhanced Yield Capability Proposal Aims to Boost NIF Yield

Studies using recent ignition experiments indicate an upgrade to 3 MJ of laser energy at NIF could result in fusion output yields in the 30 MJ range. An early stage proposal could turn this idea into reality.

LLNL’s NIF Delivers Record Laser Energy

On Oct. 30, LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) set a new record for laser energy, firing 2.2 megajoules (MJ) of energy for the first time on an ignition target.

In a First, LLNL Researchers Create Birefringent All-Glass Metasurface

LLNL researchers have adapted their novel metasurface process, which creates a thin layer on the surface of an optic, to create an all-glass metasurface with birefringence, or dual refraction, properties. This achievement could transform waveplate technology for high-power laser systems such as NIF.

NIF&PS Summer Scholar Wants to Be an Inspiration to Other Students

When Ashleigh Wilson was growing up, she thought she would become an accountant. Fast forward to the present—and the Norfolk State University Ph.D. candidate has just wrapped up her second year as a NIF&PS Summer Scholar Program intern at LLNL.

Intern Follows His Lifelong Passion for Science to LLNL

Elias Anwar, a NIF&PS Summer Scholar Program intern, has long considered science a perfect fit for his logic-driven mind and personality.

Summer Intern Learns at Intersection of Chemistry and Optical Fiber

Mary Ann Cahoon’s journey to an internship with the NIF & Photon Science Directorate at LLNL began at the Corning Museum of Glass in upstate New York.

Advanced Masking Technology Enables New Applications for Metasurface Optics

Optics researchers at LLNL have refined their novel metasurface process to create taller features without increasing feature-to-feature spacing, an advance that unlocks exciting new design possibilities for NIF and other advanced laser systems.