University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics

Also known as UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER LABORATORY FOR LASER ENERGETICS

The Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) is a University of Rochester research laboratory in New York State, established in 1970, that studies how intense laser light interacts with matter, with inertial confinement fusion as a central focus. Its OMEGA laser, completed in 1995, fires 60 ultraviolet beams delivering up to 30 kilojoules to a target and is used for direct-drive experiments, in which the beams strike the fuel capsule directly. The four-beam OMEGA EP laser, dedicated in 2008, is used to study advanced ignition schemes. LLE received $111 million from the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration in fiscal 2026 and hosts more than 800 researchers a year from more than 70 institutions.