Optics and Photonics
Harnessing the Power of Light
Photonics is the science and application of light in which it is generated and manipulated to perform various functions through transmission, modulation, emission, amplification, and sensing. Optics and photonics are complementary fields, with lasers and fiber optics being some well-known applications: fiber-optic data transmission of data, for example, is the basis for the internet.
The world's foremost laser and photonics engineers are assembled at LLNL for research, design, operation, and testing to support missions including nuclear deterrence, homeland security, energy security, and defense. Uncharted territory is explored here daily, especially at NIF (the National Ignition Facility), where experiments support the safety, security, and reliability of the national stockpile.
Optics and Photonics is central to NIF’s work, as we develop, fabricate, and evaluate new materials for advanced laser systems and the experiments conducted on them. To meet those needs, we have designed precisely fabricated fusion and high energy density physics micro-targets, ultra-thin polymer films that can support target capsules, and polymer coatings that can withstand extreme environments.
Our teams also develop and engineer high-energy-density plasma diagnostics in the optical, X-ray, and nuclear regimes to measure the results of NIF experiments. Optics and Photonics at LLNL innovates in diffractive optics, advanced laser crystals, fiber lasers, and transparent ceramics.
Please do not alter or edit this area. This generates the skewed image boxes.
border-box-0
border-box-1
border-box-2
Project Highlights
LLNL is a leader in developing advanced high-energy, high-average-power, pulsed and ultrafast laser systems as well as high-resolution space telescopes and high-performance optical lenses.

Fusion: On the Threshold of Ignition
On August 8, 2021, LLNL achieved a significant milestone in fusion research, demonstrating a fusion yield of 1.35 megajoules on NIF, more than two-thirds of the 1.9 megajoules of laser energy going in. Read Full Article

Fusion: On the Threshold of Ignition
On August 8, 2021, LLNL achieved a significant milestone in fusion research, demonstrating a fusion yield of 1.35 megajoules on NIF, more than two-thirds of the 1.9 megajoules of laser energy going in. Fusion is the process that powers the sun and occurs when the nuclei of light atoms such as hydrogen overcome the repulsive electrostatic force that keeps them apart, and “fuse” to form a heavier nucleus and large amounts of energy released in the form of alpha particles, high-energy neutrons, and electromagnetic radiation.
The experiment in August 2021 was enabled by focusing laser light from the 192 beams of NIF — the world’s largest and most energetic laser — onto a highly engineered target the size of a BB that contains the fusion fuel. The result is a hot spot the diameter of a human hair that creates conditions hotter and denser than those found at the center of the sun. The 2021 result placed NIF on the threshold of fusion ignition (defined as more energy out of the target than went in with the laser) for the first time. Target fabrication, diagnostics, laser performance, controls and operation all came together to create this breakthrough result.
NIF's central mission is to provide experimental insight and data for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s science-based Stockpile Stewardship Program. Experiments in pursuit of fusion ignition are a vital part of this effort. They provide data in an important experimental regime that is extremely difficult to access, furthering our understanding of the fundamental processes of fusion ignition and burn, and enhancing the simulation tools that support our stockpile stewardship mission. Fusion ignition is the gateway toward even higher fusion yields in the future.
Achieving fusion ignition is also the first major hurdle in efficiently harvesting fusion energy, a clean and potentially limitless energy source.
Other Project Highlights
- Building to a Solution: The Elements of a Fusion Breakthrough
- ‘Hybrid’ Experiments Drive NIF Toward Ignition
- NIF Diagnostics Played Key Role in Fusion Milestone
- High-Quality Diamond Capsule Enhanced NIF’s Record-Energy Shot
- Laser Improvements Contributed to Record Fusion Experiment
- Models and Simulations Help Map NIF’s Path to Ignition
- Milestone Shot Enhances Future of Stockpile Stewardship and Fusion Energy Science

Vera C. Rubin Telescope
In September 2021, LLNL engineers completed delivery of six optical components for a telescope expected to observe 20 billion galaxies from the Rubin Observatory in Chile.Read Full Article

Vera C. Rubin Telescope
In September 2021, LLNL engineers completed delivery of six optical components for a telescope expected to observe 20 billion galaxies from the Rubin Observatory in Chile. The project has been underway for about 10 years and involves industrial partners who did much of the fabrication. It is anticipated that the resulting Legacy Survey of Space and Time Camera (LSSTCam), will start imaging the southern sky in 2024.
A key feature of the LSSTCam’s optical assemblies will be its three lenses, one of which is the world’s largest high-performance optical lens ever fabricated, at 5.1 feet (1.57 meters) in diameter. The 8.4-meter telescope at Rubin Observatory will take digital images of the entire visible southern sky every few nights, revealing unprecedented details of the universe and helping unravel some of its greatest mysteries. During a 10-year time frame that will detect about 20 billion galaxies, the telescope will create a time-lapse "movie" of the sky.
This data will help researchers better understand dark matter and dark energy, which together make up 95 percent of the universe, but whose makeup remains unknown, as well as study the formation of galaxies, track potentially hazardous asteroids and observe exploding stars. The telescope’s camera will capture full-sky images at such high resolution that it would take 1,500 high-definition television screens to display just one picture.
Other Project Highlights
Related Facilities and Centers
Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory
The Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory (AML) is part of the Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC)—a 110-acre open and unclassified innovation hub for stimulating collaborative projects with external partners in government, industry, and academia. LVOC is a joint initiative of the NNSA, LLNL, and Sandia National Laboratories.


Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory
The Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory (AML) is part of the Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC)—a 110-acre open and unclassified innovation hub for stimulating collaborative projects with external partners in government, industry, and academia. LVOC is a joint initiative of the NNSA, LLNL, and Sandia National Laboratories.
Center for Advanced Signal and Image Sciences
The Center for Advanced Signal and Image Sciences (CASIS) establishes a forum where research scientists and engineers can freely exchange information and ideas, focused on the areas of the signal and image sciences.


Center for Advanced Signal and Image Sciences
The Center for Advanced Signal and Image Sciences (CASIS) establishes a forum where research scientists and engineers can freely exchange information and ideas, focused on the areas of the signal and image sciences.
Center for Engineered Materials and Manufacturing
The Center for Engineered Materials and Manufacturing (CEMM) spans multiple laboratories, innovating additive manufacturing techniques to create structural and functional materials with novel capabilities. The center also serves as an incubator, training future additive manufacturing talents.


Center for Engineered Materials and Manufacturing
The Center for Engineered Materials and Manufacturing (CEMM) spans multiple laboratories, innovating additive manufacturing techniques to create structural and functional materials with novel capabilities. The center also serves as an incubator, training future additive manufacturing talents.
Center for Micro Nano Technology
The Center for Micro Nano Technology (CMNT) works with materials, devices, instruments, and systems that require microfabricated components, including microelectromechanical systems, electronics, photonics, micro- and nanostructures, bioimplantable devices, and micro- and nanoactuators.


Center for Micro Nano Technology
The Center for Micro Nano Technology (CMNT) works with materials, devices, instruments, and systems that require microfabricated components, including microelectromechanical systems, electronics, photonics, micro- and nanostructures, bioimplantable devices, and micro- and nanoactuators.

Take Your Place on the
Leading Edge
Our work is fundamentally transforming the field of advanced manufacturing and materials engineering. Learn more about what a career with LLNL Engineering might have in store for you.