LLNL's Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Program
is part of LLNL's NIF Programs Directorate. Our ICF Program research is defined within the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Defense Programs missions and goals. The ICF Program advances research and technology development in major interrelated areas that include fusion target theory and design, target fabrication, target experiments, and laser and optical science and technology.

Currently, much of our research plays a key role in the DOE's Stockpile Stewardship Program to maintain the U.S. nuclear deterrent without performing underground nuclear testing. An important long-term goal is to explore ICF's feasibility as a clean and inexhaustible source for commercial electric power production by inertial fusion energy (IFE) (PDF-450K).

LLNL's ICF Program falls within DOE's national ICF program, which includes the following laser facilities: OMEGA (University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics), Nike (Naval Research Laboratory), and Trident (Los Alamos National Laboratory). The Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator and the Saturn pulsed-power facilities are at Sandia National Laboratories. General Atomics, Inc., develops and provides many of the targets for the above experimental facilities.

The ICF Annual Report provides documentation of the achievements of the LLNL ICF Program during the fiscal year.

The ICF Semiannual Report is published by the Inertial Confinement Fusion Program at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The journal, which replaces the ICF Quarterly Report, describes selected research within the ICF Program. Major areas of investigation include fusion target theory and design, target fabrication, target experiments, and laser and optical science and technology. After the October 1999 - March 2000 (vol. 1, No. 1) issue, succeeding issues will only be available electronically in PDF format from the ICF Program website.

Every two months, the ICF Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory distributes the ICF Program Bimonthly Update, which replaces the ICF Monthly Highlights. This one-page document summarizes notable accomplishments for the Program.

Awards and selected publications/presentations to various organizations and societies, such as the American Physical Society, will be posted on the ICF website.