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Home : Our Work : Areas of Research : Plasma Physics

    Plasma Physics
Phone: (202) 767-5635

 

Overview

The Plasma Physics Division conducts broad theoretical and experimental programs of basic and applied research in plasma physics, laboratory discharge, and space plasmas, intense electron and ion beams and photon sources, atomic physics, pulsed power sources, laser physics, advanced spectral diagnostics, and nonlinear systems. 

The effort of the Division is concentrated on a few closely coordinated theoretical and experimental programs. Considerable emphasis is placed on large-scale numerical simulations related to plasma dynamics; ionospheric, magnetospheric, and atmospheric dynamics; nuclear weapons effects; inertial confinement fusion; atomic physics; plasma processing; nonlinear dynamics and chaos; free electron lasers and other advanced radiation sources; advanced accelerator concepts; and atmospheric laser propagation.

Core Capabilities 

  • Radiation Hydrodynamics - The principal emphasis is in the development and application of theoretical models and state-of-the-art numerical simulations combining magnetohydrodynamics, high energy density physics, atomic and radiation physics, and spectroscopy.
  • Laser Plasma - Primary areas of research include physics underpinnings of laser fusion, high-energy-gain laser-inertial- fusion target designs, experiments and simulations of laser-matter interactions at high intensity, advancing the science and technologies of high-energy krypton fluoride and argon fluoride lasers, advancing the technologies of durable high-repetition-rate pulse power and electron-beam diodes for laser pumping and other applications, laser fusion as a power source.
  • Space and Laboratory Plasmas - Space research includes theoretical, numerical, and laboratory and space experimental investigations of the dynamic behavior of the near-Earth space plasmas and radiation belts, and the modification of space plasmas for strategic effects on HF communications, satellite navigation, over-the-horizon radar, and UHF satellite communications.  Applications-oriented plasma research is performed in the production, characterization, and use of low-temperature plasmas and related technology for applications to advance capabilities across the Navy and DOD.  Pulsed-power investigations include electromagnetic launch science and technology and research on directed energy systems for the U.S. Navy.
  • Pulsed Power Physics - Experimental and theoretical research is performed to advance pulsed power driven accelerator technology in areas relevant to defense applications. Research concerns the production, transport, characterization, and modeling of pulsed plasmas and intense high-power, charged particle beams using terawatt-class hundred-kilojoule pulsed power systems that employ capacitive or inductive energy storage and advanced switching. 
  • Directed Energy Physics - Research encompasses the integration of theoretical/computational and experimental research relevant to DOD, ONR, DARPA, and DoE in the areas of ultra-high field laser physics, atmospheric propagation of intense lasers, advanced radiation and accelerator physics, laser-generated plasma-microwave interactions, and dynamics of nonlinear systems. 

Facilities Fact Sheets

  • Electra Experimental Lab Facility - Electron beam pumped laser.  [ Download PDF]
  • NIKE KrF Laser Target Facility.  [Download PDF]
  • Space Plasma Simulation Chamber.  [Download PDF]

Plasma Physics News

NEWS | Aug. 18, 2023

NRL Transfers NAUTILUS Instrument to University of Notre Dame: Strengthening Navy Research Academic Partnerships

By Nicholas E. M. Pasquini, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Corporate Communications

WASHINGTON  –   Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Navy Adm. Christopher W. Grady served as the guest speaker at an event finalizing the agreement to transfer U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) NAval Ultra-Trace Isotope Laboratory Universal Spectrometer (NAUTILUS) instrument to the University of Notre Dame on Aug. 18 in Washington, DC.

NRL researchers designed and built the NAUTILUS spectrometer instrument to provide new measurement capabilities unlike those available at other laboratories at the time. NAUTILUS was declared operationally capable of measuring nuclear, cosmo/geo-chemical, and electronic materials in 2015.

“The partnership between Notre Dame and the U.S. Navy is steeped in history, and I am incredibly proud to stand at the intersection of Navy and Notre Dame as we gather today to celebrate this future collaborative opportunity,” said Adm. Grady. “The USNRL’s long and fruitful relationship with industry, academia, and other government agencies is a testament to the power of partnership in pushing science forward as a force for good. To meet the challenges of providing the joint force with new capabilities, we must continue our work with industry, Allies and partners, and academia to harness their collective energy, knowledge, and vision. Our collaboration is America’s competitive advantage.”

NAUTILUS research goals encompassed the development of a novel suite of techniques for precision measurement of elemental composition across the entire periodic table for a wide range of sample types relevant to Department of the Navy (DON) applications ranging from trace elemental analysis of nuclear fuels to materials analysis of new types of semiconductors, metal oxides, and two-dimensional (2D) materials. 

“The NAUTILUS was developed at NRL by incorporating a Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (SIMS) instrument (CAMECA ims-4f) as the ion injector to a Secondary Single-stage Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (SSAMS) to create a unique facility for mass spectrometry,” said Dr. Bruce G. Danly, NRL director of research.

Instrumentation disassembly and its future installation at the University of Notre Dame campus will be led by personnel from Notre Dame’s Nuclear Science Laboratory (NSL), which is one of the leading low-energy particle accelerator facilities in the country and is funded by the National Science Foundation. The NSL is comprised of 20 faculty, 50 graduate and 30 undergraduate students, with about 100 outside collaborators. 

 “The instrument will now operate at the University of Notre Dame,” Danly said. “Researchers from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory will continue to have access to the instrument and opportunities for collaboration. There is extensive overlap in NRL and the university’s research areas in atomic mass spectrometry.”

Congress authorizes a defense laboratory to transfer scientific equipment commonly used by educational institutions that is surplus to the needs of the laboratory via the use of Educational Partnership Agreements (EPAs).

NRL and Notre Dame have signed an EPA to transfer all rights, title, and interest in the NAUTILUS to the university. The College of Science and the College of Engineering at Notre Dame have committed the required resources to install and operate NAUTILUS as a joint Research and Teaching Facility between the colleges.

NRL serves as an effective coupling point with industry and academic partners in the research and development chain for the Navy and Marine Corps. NRL is the principal in-house component in the Naval Research Enterprise’s portfolio of research and innovation organizations in support of science and technology requirements for the DON.

As the DON’s corporate laboratory, NRL leads space systems development and support, fire and materials research, tactical electronic warfare, microelectronic device development, and artificial intelligence innovation. The laboratory focuses its research efforts on current and future Navy strategic interests and technological requirements in a period marked by global terrorism, shifting power balances, and irregular and asymmetric warfare.

“The interdisciplinary and wide-ranging nature of NRL’s work keeps this ‘great research laboratory’ at the forefront of discovery and innovation, solving naval challenges and benefiting the nation as a whole,” Danly said. “NRL continues moving technology rapidly from concept to operational use when high-priority, short-term needs arise.”


About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory 

NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL is located in Washington, D.C., with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, Key West, Florida, and Monterey, California, and employs approximately 3,000 civilian scientists, engineers and support personnel.

For more information, contact NRL Corporate Communications at (202) 480-3746 or nrlpao@nrl.navy.mil.