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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 | Nov. 17, 2025

Naval Research Laboratory Scientist Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society

By Jameson Crabtree, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Corporate Communications

WASHINGTON, D.C.  –   The American Physical Society (APS) selected John Lyons, Ph.D., a physical scientist in the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Materials Science and Technology Division, as a 2025 APS Fellow for his fundamental contributions to the understanding and design of wide-band-gap semiconductors using first-principles methods, including strategies for semiconductor doping and for understanding and controlling exciton fine structure.

APS Fellowship is a distinct honor recognizing members who have made exceptional contributions to the physics enterprise through research, applications, leadership, or education. Fewer than 0.5% of the Society’s members are elected each year.

“I’m honored to be recognized by APS and by my peers in the physics community,” Lyons said. “Much of my work focuses on understanding doping and defects in semiconductors like gallium oxide and gallium nitride—materials that are key to the next generation of radar and high-power electronic systems.”

At NRL, Lyons leads theoretical research aimed at identifying and designing new semiconductor materials that can advance Navy technologies. His team’s recent work includes a computational search for bright-exciton semiconductor materials, using predictive modeling to identify promising compounds that could later be synthesized and tested in NRL laboratories.

“These new materials have the potential to outperform existing nanocrystals in brightness and efficiency,” Lyons explained. “By combining theory with experiment, we’re helping to accelerate materials discovery that could enable technologies many years down the line.”

Lyons collaborates closely with NRL’s Electronics Science and Technology Division, whose researchers grow and characterize semiconductor materials used in high-performance electronic and optoelectronic devices.

“It’s a great partnership,” Lyons said. “We develop the theoretical models that predict material behavior, and they conduct the experiments that put those predictions to the test. This kind of collaboration is one of NRL’s strengths.”

Lyons, who has been a member of APS for more than 16 years, will be recognized at the APS March Meeting in 2026, the Society’s annual gathering of physicists from around the world.

“The work we’re doing today builds on decades of investment in materials research,” Lyons said. “Just as earlier studies on gallium nitride led to the radar systems used on ships today, our efforts today on gallium oxide and other emerging materials will support the Navy’s future missions.”

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 Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL, located in Washington, D.C. with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi; Key West, Florida; 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@us.navy.mil.
Materials Science and Technology