U.S. Department of Defense - Laboratory for Laser Energetics

The Department of Defense provides funding for many LLE research initiatives, including the following:

Advanced Target Chamber to Enable High-Power, Ultrashort-Pulse Laser–Matter Physics

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) has invested in building the MTW-OPAL Target Chamber to provide the final investment in infrastructure to complete a new mid-scale petawatt laser facility that will enable fundamental research, including high-field physics, laser-based secondary sources (THz, x-rays, and charged particles), high-energy-density physics, and directed energy. The target chamber will provide an opportunity for investigators across multiple disciplines (e.g., high-power lasers, ultrashort-pulse laser–matter physics, optics, THz science, and high-energy-density physics) to advance novel science while providing hands-on training for graduate students, engineers, and technicians. As a result, the final infrastructure project will establish a facility for short-pulse, laser-enabled science education, addressing a national need relevant to the AFOSR and other agencies.

Pulsed-Laser Effects Studies

The U.S. Department of Defense has invested in research to study pulsed-laser effects and will develop a pipeline of talent to support the broad use of laser-based technologies. This program aims to use LLE’s unique capabilities to enable new understanding and respond to rapidly emerging, national-security needs, while educating the next generation of scientists, engineers, and technicians.