Science and Technology Highlights

Line-replaceable units (LRUs), also known as pulsers, power the Scorpius electron beam accelerator, which will capture multiple X-ray images of dynamic explosives experiments important to ensuring the nation’s nuclear deterrent remains safe and effective without full-scale nuclear explosive testing.
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The first four line-replaceable units, also referred to as pulsers, have been delivered to LLNL from vendors for installation into Scorpius, a particle accelerator that will be the first accelerator to be powered with solid-state pulse power technology. 

Hewlett Packard Enterprise President and CEO Antonio Neri (left) and AMD Chair and CEO Lisa Su toured Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's El Capitan and Tuolumne supercomputers, signing an El Capitan compute rack.
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More than 300 LLNL employees, government officials and industry leaders gathered at LLNL on Jan. 9 to celebrate the dedication of El Capitan, the world’s fastest supercomputer. 

The NIF lasers overlap onto the millimeter-scale cylindrical silver foam target. The resultant heating creates X-rays, which are then imaged as shown on the right.
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By combining the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser and ultra-light metal foams, LLNL researchers have produced the brightest X-ray source to date.

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with samples it is collecting from Mars. These samples are critical for understanding the planet’s evolution.
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In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, LLNL researchers argue that samples retrieved from known locations on Mars by sample return missions could solve this conundrum. 

Each dot represents a plasmid, color-coded by its host bacteria. The plasmids are grouped into communities by their toxin-antitoxin systems.
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LLNL researchers identify toxin-antitoxin systems as a possible passkey to hack into bacteria communities.

Lloyd Hackel discusses the new type of laser peening technology he co-invented with colleague Brent Dane while working in laser science at LLNL 20-plus years ago, and the impact it’s made on industries as a result of commercialization with Curtiss-Wright’s Metal Improvement Company.
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LLNL’s mission-focused work advancing national security by developing laser technology for X-ray lithography and satellite imaging research leads to technology spin-offs with commercial importance. 

Anverview of scale-up tools and approaches. The interactions between risk assessments, modeling tools, experimental tools and personnel management are critical for driving scale-up outcomes and impacts.
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LLNL and collaborators argue that early assessments of technology–market fit and how the physics governing system performance evolves with scale can de-risk technology development and accelerate deployment. 

From left: Drew Willard, Brendan Reagan and Issa Tamer work on the Big Aperture Thulium (BAT) laser system.
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A new research partnership led by LLNL aims to lay the groundwork for the next evolution of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, centered around a Lab-developed driver system.

Building on more than a decade of research, LLNL materials scientists and industry partner Eljen Technology have produced plastic, lithium-6 doped scintillator “bars” (with dimensions of 5.5 cm × 5.5 cm × 50 cm) capable of detecting antineutrinos: the antimatter partner of a neutrino, one of nature’s most elusive and least understood subatomic particles.
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LLNL researchers, in partnership with Elijen Technology, are working on a plastic, lithium-6 doped scintillator for detecting reactor antineutrinos that represents over a decade of materials science research. 

A reflection of Brian Bauman (left), the space hardware principal optical engineer and inventor of the monolithic telescope and Frank Ravizza, the space hardware optical engineering lead, is seen on the primary mirror surface on a flight-ready 175-millimeter aperture monolithic telescope. Addittionally, Ravizza is seen holding a 25-millimeter aperture monolithic optic. The ease of handling showcases the robust design incorporated in all monolithic telescopes.
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Starris: Optimax Space Systems and LLNL have entered a commercialization partnership for LLNL’s patented monolithic telescope technology, which accelerates rapid deployment of modular optical designs for space imagery.