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| Motto | "A unique national resource" |
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| Established | 1970 |
| Research Type | Unclassified |
| Field of Research | The investigation of the interaction of intense radiation with matter |
| Director | Robert L. McCrory |
| Faculty | 7 |
| Undergraduate students | 27 |
| Postgraduate students | 16 |
| Address | 250 East River Rd Rochester, NY 14623-1212 |
| Location | Brighton, New York, US |
| Zipcode | 14623 |
| Telephone | +1-585-275-5286 |
| Fax | +1-585-256-2586 |
| Affiliations | United States Department of Energy MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center State University of New York at Geneseo University of Nevada, Reno University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Operating Agency | University of Rochester |
| Website | lle.rochester.edu |
The Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) is a scientific research facility which is part of the University of Rochester's south campus, located in Brighton, New York. The lab was established in 1970 and its operations since then have been funded jointly; mainly by the United States Department of Energy, the University of Rochester and the New York State government. The Laser Lab was commissioned to serve as a center for investigations of high-energy physics, specifically those involving the interaction of extremely intense laser radiation with matter. Many types of scientific experiments are performed at the facility with a strong emphasis on inertial confinement, direct drive, laser-induced fusion using OMEGA, currently the world's highest-energy ultraviolet laser. The lab shares its building with the Center for Optoelectronics and Imaging and the Center for Optics Manufacturing. A new addition, the Robert L. Sproull Center for Ultra High Intensity Laser Research, was opened in 2005 and houses the OMEGA EP laser, which was completed in May 2008. During summer months the lab sponsors a program for high school students which involves local-area high school juniors in the research being done at the laboratory. Most of the projects are done on current research that is led by senior scientists at the lab.
The OMEGA laser at the LLE is one of the most powerful and highest energy lasers in the world. It is a 60-beam ultraviolet frequency-tripled neodymium glass laser, which is capable of delivering 30 kilojoules at up to 60 terawatts onto a target less than 1 millimeter in diameter. Construction and commissioning of the laser were completed in 1995. OMEGA held the record for highest energy laser (per pulse) from 1999 (after the Nova laser's dismantling) to 2005, when the first 8 beams of the National Ignition Facility exceeded OMEGA's output by about 30 kJ in the ultraviolet. The maximum fusion yield of OMEGA so far is about 1014 neutrons per shot (first achieved in 1995), and it thus holds the record for highest neutron yield of any inertial confinement fusion device to date.
The four beam OMEGA EP (extended performance) laser system was dedicated on May 16, 2008. Along with the four NIF-like laser beams, it consists of a new target chamber and a vacuum pulse compression chamber containing large-aperture pulse compression gratings, allowing the laser system to perform short pulse laser shots. The laser is housed inside the newest addition to the building, which was completed in 2005. The combination of the OMEGA and the OMEGA EP laser systems will allow the LLE to be the world's only facility capable of fully integrated cryogenic fast-ignition experiments.
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