A North Carolina-based company has grown and harvested a ytterbium-doped yttrium lithium fluoride (Yb:YLF) crystal boule. Laser crystals, like Yb:YLF, serve as the core material inside a laser that amplifies light required to produce a laser beam.

Grown by Northrop Grumman subsidiary SYNOPTICS, the crystal could power the laser systems needed to unlock fusion’s potential as a clean energy source, putting humanity one step closer to harnessing star-like energy on Earth.

Powering high-energy laser systems for fusion

Demanding applications, like inertial confinement fusion, require high-energy laser systems which in turn require large crystal boules. The company claimed that the laser development is more than a material science feat and it’s a gamechanger for fusion research. Parts from this crystal will go on to power high-energy laser systems for inertial fusion energy research at Germany’s renowned research center, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), according to SYNOPTICS.

“We’ve just grown one of the largest and purest crystals of its kind, a landmark moment,” said Dr. Kevin Stevens, general manager at Northrop Grumman SYNOPTICS.

“This achievement opens new possibilities for our customer’s laser system design, bringing us one step closer to unlocking clean, limitless energy that could transform how we power our world and fuel innovation for generations to come.”

Fusion laser development

With the launch of Inertial Fusion Energy Laser Development and HED Analytics, (IFuEL), a broad multi-institutional Fusion 2040 consortium including DESY and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR), DESY is advancing a new generation of laser technology for inertial fusion energy. The project targets one of the central challenges in fusion laser development: achieving high wall-plug efficiency in scalable, reliable, high-energy laser systems, according to details shared by SYNOPTICS.

Building on more than a decade of cryogenic Yb:YLF laser research in DESY, IFuEL will develop a 200-Joule-class laser module as a potential building block for future fusion laser drivers. This progress is enabled by record-size, high-quality Yb:YLF crystals grown by Northrop Grumman’s SYNOPTICS, whose large aperture and high optical quality are essential for efficient high-energy, high-average-power laser operation.

Laser crystals are the heart of solid-state laser systems, enabling the amplification of light required to produce a laser beam. Northrop Grumman SYNOPTICS specializes in growing these synthetic laser crystals and is proud to support laser engineers in revolutionizing care, confidence, security, efficiency and discovery.

When a laser operates at high power, a portion of the energy can become heat within the optical material. If that heat is not managed effectively, it can distort the optical path, reduce efficiency or potentially damage the component.

This is one reason why advanced laser-material technologies have long been an area of interest for defense research. The significance of such technologies goes beyond a single component. Combining different laser materials can allow engineers to design optical structures that better manage the competing requirements of power, efficiency, thermal performance and durability.

The importance of high-quality laser materials is likely to increase as defense organizations explore increasingly powerful directed-energy technologies.