DOE/NA/28302-992 January 2011 40 Years of Excellence 1970 – 2010 Robert L. McCrory LLE Director, 1983–Present Robert L. Sproull Donald K. Hess University of Rochester University of Rochester President Emeritus Vice President Emeritus Moshe J. Lubin Jay M. Eastman LLE Founding Director LLE Director, 1981–1982 1970–1981 ZETA Laser OMEGA 24-Beam Laser 1978 1980 OMEGA EP Laser OMEGA 60-Beam Laser 2008 1995 Omega Laser Facility 2008 Cover Photos Top (left to right): Moshe J. Lubin, the founding director of the Laboratory; Robert L. Sproull, University of Rochester President at the time of the Laboratory’s founding; Robert L. McCrory, present LLE CEO and Director; Donald K. Hess, University of Rochester Vice President at the time of the Laboratory’s founding and, along with Sproull, key to its successful implementation; Jay M. Eastman, LLE Director 1981–1982 and project manager for the original OMEGA 24-beam Laser System. Bottom (left to right): The ZETA target chamber used to conduct experiments with the first six beams of the 24-beam OMEGA system; the OMEGA EP laser (LLE’s latest laser facility) activated in 2008; the 60-beam OMEGA target chamber area during a target shot taken in 2008; the 60-beam OMEGA laser amplifiers during a shot taken during the system activation in 1995; and the original 24-beam OMEGA laser activated in 1980. In the background is a photograph taken of a target shot inside the target chamber of the 60-beam OMEGA laser. This report was prepared as an account of work conducted by the Laboratory for Laser Energetics and sponsored by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the University of Rochester, the U.S. Department of Energy, and other agencies. Neither the above named sponsors, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, mark, Printed in the United States of America manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its Available from endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government National Technical Information Services or any agency thereof or any other sponsor. Results reported herein should U.S. Department of Commerce not be taken as necessarily final results as they represent active research. The 5285 Port Royal Road views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those Springfield, VA 22161 of any of the above sponsoring entities. www.ntis.gov The work described in this volume includes current research at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, which is supported by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the University of Rochester, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Inertial Confinement Fusion under Cooperative Agree- ment No. DE-FC52-08NA28302, and other agencies. For questions or comments, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, 250 East River Road, Rochester, NY 14623-1299, (585) 275-5286. www.lle.rochester.edu DOE/NA/28302-992 January 2011 Highlights of the History of the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics Foreword versity because of the excellence and expertise of both the This year the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser University of Rochester faculty and the Rochester commu- Energetics (LLE) celebrates its 40th year. An anniversary pro- nity in the physical sciences, particularly physics and optics. vides the opportunity to reflect on the triumphs and difficulties Exceptional leadership at the University, especially that of the of the past and to be reinvigorated by future challenges and University’s 7th President, Robert L. Sproull, a well-respected goals that must be set and achieved. LLE accomplishments, physicist and administrator as well as a former director of the marked by the innovation and brilliance that have received U.S. Government’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, led international attention for 40 years, have been possible because to the establishment of the Laboratory in 1970. This document, of the dedication, talent, creativity, and resolve of the research prepared in large part by Dr. John Soures, whose professional team—the scientists, faculty, students, and staff of the Labo- career spans LLE’s entire history, provides a brief history of the ratory. Equally important in our history are the support and Laboratory for Laser Energetics as we prepare for what is most funding LLE has received from our major sponsors including likely the most exciting time in history in the quest and grand the University, private industry, the State of New York, and challenge to tame nuclear fusion for the good of mankind. the Federal government. The collective accomplishments of the Laboratory are testimony to the tradition of scientific and Thermonuclear fusion is the process by which low-atomic- technical excellence that marks the rich history of the Univer- weight nuclei such as hydrogen combine to form a higher- sity of Rochester. atomic-weight nucleus such as helium. Two isotopes of hydro- gen—deuterium (composed of a hydrogen nucleus containing LLE is a unique national resource for research and education one neutron and one proton) and tritium (a hydrogen nucleus in science and technology and a major asset of the University. containing one proton and two neutrons)—provide the most The Rochester area and the University have a history of inno- energetically favorable fusion reactants. In the fusion process vation that provides a singular environment for LLE within a some of the mass of the original nuclei is transformed to energy technologically sophisticated scientific community, resulting in in the form of high-energy particles. Energy from fusion reac- substantial regional economic impact. Established in 1970 as a tions is the most basic form of energy in the universe; our sun center for the investigation of the interaction of intense radia- and all other stars produce energy by thermonuclear fusion tion with matter, LLE has a five-fold mission: (1) to conduct reactions. The most significant long-term potential commercial laser-fusion implosion experiments in support of the National application of fusion is the generation of electric power. Fusion Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) program; (2) to develop new does not generate nuclear waste nor does it enhance nuclear laser and materials technologies; (3) to provide education in proliferation concerns, in contrast to the nuclear fission reactors electro-optics, high-power lasers, high-energy-density physics, currently in use. The fuel for fusion, which occurs naturally in plasma physics, and nuclear fusion technology; (4) to conduct water, is essentially inexhaustible. A demonstration of “igni- research and development in advanced technology related to tion,” the beginning of a self-sustaining fusion reaction, in the high-energy-density physics; and (5) to operate the National laboratory is expected in the next few years on the National Laser Users’ Facility (NLUF). Ignition Facility (NIF), a $3.5 billion facility built by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security The year 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the inven- Administration at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. tion of the laser. The year is also the 81st anniversary of The LLE is one of the four institutional partners in the NIF and, as Institute of Optics, one of the exceptional departments within part of this National effort, is justifiably proud to stand on the the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The threshold of the realization of fusion energy with our national potential of the laser was immediately recognized at the Uni- research partners. i HigHligHts of tHe History of tHe laboratory for laser energetics The OMEGA Laser System and the OMEGA EP Laser LLE’s activities include the development of technologies System are the pre-eminent facilities within the inertial fusion to support its research mission. As a relatively small facility, and high-energy-density physics communities that support an competing with the national laboratories, LLE has relied on its important national mission. Extensive use of OMEGA is essen- technology development to perform cutting-edge research and tial to the national program to achieve ignition, to provide laser to maintain a competitive advantage. Technology development facility time for national laboratory experiments, and to operate provides a fertile opportunity to develop sources of external the NLUF. OMEGA is the staging and support facility for the funding, to stimulate collaboration with River Campus faculty, NIF. External users currently account for approximately 50% and to establish interactions with industry. A number of LLE- of the use of OMEGA. LLE’s principal collaborating institu- developed technologies have been commercialized, benefiting tion in inertial fusion research is Lawrence Livermore National local and national companies. Laboratory (LLNL). Additionally, the Laboratory benefits from strong strategic alliances with the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- On a personal note, the 40th anniversary of the Laboratory nology (MIT) and the State University of New York (SUNY) is a very special occasion. It is my great privilege and pleasure at Geneseo to further its educational mission and increase the to have served as Director since 1983. I have been at LLE dur- number of technically qualified people in the field. ing the most intensely productive period of the Laboratory’s history as we grew large enough to be effective and remained The long-term viability of the Laboratory has been due in small enough to be agile. We are now in a position to see the part to a strategy that contains options that have been respon- promise of fusion realized. The Laboratory is one element that sive to changing national research priorities and the complex makes the University of Rochester a unique institution among political realities associated with any large national effort.