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. 

Optics for Petawatt Pulses

As the home of the world’s largest and most energetic laser, Lawrence Livermore regularly stands at the forefront of high-energy-density physics research. The Laboratory’s laser systems create extreme experimental conditions by exploiting a simple relationship: power is defined as energy transfer over time.

Backlighter Tech: Automated Software to Optimize NIF Shot Efficiency

Automation of the fiber-delay backlighter (FDBL) diagnostic technique has reduced the execution time for NIF experiments and allows for the optimization of shot scheduling.

NIF’s Optics Meet the Demands of Increased Laser Energy

Part 5 of “The Age of Ignition,” a NIF & Photon Science News Special Report describing the elements of the National Ignition Facility’s fusion breakthrough

‘Twisted’ Laser Light Experiments Offer New Insights into Plasma Physics

Electromagnetic vortices are naturally occurring throughout the universe and have recently been observed in association with black holes.

Video: The Beamline to Ignition

In this video, you can follow the journey of NIF’s laser beams as they increase in energy from 1 billionth of a joule to 4 million joules by the time they reach the center of the Target Chamber.

LLNL’s New Diffraction Gratings Will Enable the World’s Most Powerful Laser

LLNL researchers and their collaborators have developed new high-energy pulse compression gratings that will be used in the world’s highest-power laser system, designed to deliver up to 10 petawatts (quadrillion watts) of peak power.

NIF’s Master Oscillator Room Upgrade Completes Key Milestone

The National Ignition Facility’s Master Oscillator Room (MOR)—the so-called “heart of the laser”—recently completed a three-year modernization project with a prominent, state-of-the-art feature being its support of direct-drive, Flexible Color Mapping (FlexCM) experiments.

Researchers Design a Compact High-Power Laser Using Plasma Optics

LLNL researchers have designed a compact multi-petawatt laser that uses plasma transmission gratings to overcome the power limitations of conventional solid-state optical gratings. The design could enable construction of an ultrafast laser up to 1,000 times more powerful than existing lasers of the same size.