OMEGA 60 Laser System
A 60-beam ultraviolet laser capable of delivering 30 kilojoules of energy at 30 terawatts. This precision instrument focuses its beams onto millimeter-scale targets, enabling groundbreaking experiments in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion. With over 2,000 target shots conducted annually, OMEGA has set benchmarks in nuclear fusion research, achieving internal pressures exceeding 50 gigabars and neutron yields of over 5×10135×1013 reactions per implosion.
OMEGA EP Laser System
Complementing OMEGA is the OMEGA EP (Extended Performance) Laser System, a four-beam petawatt-class laser. Dedicated in 2008, this system supports advanced ignition experiments and high-intensity backlighting. Two of its beams are equipped with pulse compression technology, delivering pulses as short as one picosecond and energies up to 2.6 kilojoules. OMEGA EP can operate independently or integrate with OMEGA for fast-ignition experiments, making LLE the only facility globally capable of fully integrated cryogenic fast-ignition research.
The Omega Laser Facility, operated by the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at the University of Rochester, is one of the world’s premier high-energy-density (HED) science facilities.
Designed to advance research in inertial confinement fusion (ICF), plasma physics, and astrophysics, this cutting-edge facility plays a critical role in supporting the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) mission for stockpile stewardship and scientific discovery.
A Hub for Collaboration and Innovation
The Omega Laser Facility is a national user facility, welcoming researchers from national laboratories, academic institutions, and beyond. It provides state-of-the-art diagnostic tools, target fabrication capabilities, and remote user access to support diverse scientific investigations.
Approximately 60% of experiments conducted here involve external users, fostering collaboration across disciplines while training the next generation of scientists.
The research conducted at the Omega Laser Facility enables research, drives innovation and contributes to our understanding of fundamental physics. It also supports national security by advancing technologies critical to stockpile stewardship programs.
LLE’s Omega Laser Facility provides 80% of the nation’s high-energy-density physics experiments to the community.
I’ve been doing experiments as a PI or a Co-PI here since 2012. Any questions that my team is interested in answering, using this facility is the key. Being able to do experiments in the HED environment at Omega is the only thing that makes this research possible.
What’s unique about Omega is the number of shots you can get. There’s a lot of energy you need for these experiments, and there are only a few places that can do it. The sheer amount of diagnostic capabilities, flexibility, the different types of platforms…all these things on their own are quite unique, and together it’s unprecedented.
LLE and Omega are really powerful and unique for calibrating diagnostics, developing diagnostics, and just doing fundamental studies on fusion experiments that you can apply to larger facilities.
For students, there’s really no other place to go to get experience in big lasers. The great thing about OMEGA and OMEGA EP is that you can have students come and try their ideas, and take them to another laser down the line