Science and Technology Highlights

Target assembly developed by LLNL researchers, ready for an experiment at the National Ignition Facility to measure nuclear reactions in high-energy-density plasma environments. The assembly includes a capsule doped with radioactive material (located inside the cylindrical hohlraum).
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LLNL radiochemistry experts recently made the first experimental measurements of nuclear reactions in high-energy-density plasma environments.

LLNL scientist Sean O'Kelley works on the Lab’s superconducting quantum hardware, which is based on Nobel Prize-winning research.
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At LLNL, award-winning discoveries underpin two fronts of ongoing innovation: fundamental research in quantum computing hardware and designing ultrasensitive devices and methods to hunt for dark matter.  

A breakthrough two-photon lithography platform from a team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Stanford University researchers uses large arrays of metalenses to split a femtosecond laser into more than 120,000 coordinated focal spots that write simultaneously across centimeter-scale areas. The method produces intricate 3D architectures with minimum feature sizes of 113 nanometers and achieves throughput more than a thousand times faster than commercial systems.
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LLNL engineers and scientists, in collaboration with Stanford University, have demonstrated a breakthrough 3D nanofabrication approach.

At the Nevada National Security Sites, the Joint Actinide Shock Physics Experimental Research (JASPER) gas gun slams small, fast-moving projectiles into small samples of plutonium, yielding data about the behavior of plutonium under high-pressure shock conditions.
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The JASPER facility recently surpassed 200 full-containment experimental shots, marking more than two decades of precision operations, scientific advancement and collaboration.

Scanning electron microscope image of 3D-printed helical arrays made by researchers at LLNL.
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LLNL researchers have optimized and 3D-printed helix structures as optical materials for Terahertz (THz) frequencies, a potential way to address a technology gap. 

An artist’s conception of the quasar PDS 456. Results from the XRISM satellite showed that the supermassive black hole ejects winds at unexpectedly high speeds.
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LLNL researchers examine the winds coming from a quasar and a neutron star binary system, the gas sloshing in a galaxy cluster, and an astrophysical object shrouded in secrecy.

The LUX-ZEPLIN main detector in a surface lab before installation underground.
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The newest results from LUX-ZEPLIN extend the experiment’s search for low-mass dark matter and set world-leading limits on one of the prime dark matter candidates.

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and their collaborators developed a new process for magnet fabrication that skips two major, energy-intensive steps and doesn’t produce harmful byproducts.
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LLNL researchers and collaborators develop a new process for neodymium magnet fabrication. 

LLNL scientists Jeremy Feaster and Steven Hawks are collaborating on a process to convert wastewater into clean water and recovered fertilizer. Here they hold the electrochemical reactor for the final step of the process.
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LLNL researchers are developing a process to convert wastewater into clean water and recycled fertilizer. 

The cryogenic-compatible X-ray, neutron and blast snout (CryoXNBS) safely houses material samples to be subjected to fusion ignition irradiation environments inside a solid double containment enclosure during a National Ignition Facility (NIF) experiment.
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LLNL conducts NIF experiment to assess the ability of U.S. nuclear weapons to survive encounters with adversary missile defenses and reach their targets.