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The National Security mission at the lab supports advanced technology needs of the nation. We support some of the advanced needs for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, State, EPA as well as international partners and state governments. LLNL excels in programs for High Explosives, Sensors, Space missions, Materials, Intelligence, Forensic Sciences, High Performance Simulation and Computing. The LLNL facilities have some of the largest research labs in the nation spread over several thousand acres.

Portfolio News and Multimedia

RaFTS: Radiation Field Training Simulator

Training realistically to respond to the threat of radiological terrorism is a real problem. Using actual radiological materials to train federal, state, and local agencies who detect and respond to these threats is extremely expensive, adds risk, and can’t replicate many of the scenarios of concern. LLNL’s Radiation Field Training Simulator (RaFTS) is a programmable device that injects realistic radiation source signals into suitably adapted operational radiation detection and identification devices (spectrometers). RaFTS enables highly realistic scenarios to simulate truly hazardous situations but without the need, expense or risks of using actual radiological material. In 2020, RaFTS was licensed by Argon Electronics Ltd (UK) to add significant capability to their line of CBRN hazard simulators.

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LLNL and Partners Leveraging Microorganisms to Separate and Purify Rare-Earth Elements

LLNL, Penn State, Columbia University, Tufts University, University of Kentucky, Purdue University and industry partner Western Rare Earths will use microbial and biomolecular engineering to develop a scalable bio-based separation and purification strategy for rare-earth elements

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Three LLNL Scientists Inducted into LLNL’s Entrepreneurs’ Hall of Fame

A trio of LLNL scientists have been inducted into the laboratory's Entrepreneur's Hall of Fame. Each developed technologies during or after their Lab careers that created major economic impacts or spawned new companies.

National Security and Defense Technologies

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Stock image UAV drone monitoring gas near pipeline valves

LLNL researchers have developed a TDLAS-based, standalone, real-time gas analyzer in a small form-factor for continuous or single-point monitoring.  The system can analyze multiple gases with ultra-high sensitivity (ppm detection levels) in harsh conditions when utilizing wavelength-modulation spectroscopy (WMS). 

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A typical first responder training visualization that employs simulated gamma-ray and neutron radiation interactions within a virtual scenario. (Images by Ryan Chen.)

To address the need for realistic and high-fidelity first responder training, a multidisciplinary team at LLNL has worked to establish the new gold standard simulator called TARANTULA (Tactical Augmented Reality Applications for Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) Training using Livermore Analytics). TARANTULA is a scientifically accurate, fully functional, field-deployable simulator that…

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National Ignition Facility (NIF)

This novel detector for characterizing IFE implosions is an alternative to the current RTNADs to measure neutron fluxes > 3x1011 neutrons/cm2 at high shot rates. The detector consists of a stack of small square metal wafers separated by thin insulating spacers. Every other wafer is held at high voltage while the remaining wafers are grounded. The stack acts as an…

IPO logo over a face profile with interconnected lines

LLNL’s SAS technology embedded within a facility is developed to sense, detect, localize, alert, and communicate an active shooter(s) to first responders.  It relies on three integrated compact sensors that detect sound, infrared light (from the muzzle blast) and vibrations emanating from a gunshot.  Fusing the data from these detectors minimizes false alarms.

IPO logo over a face profile with interconnected lines

The key to time-reversal for an active shooter detection/tracking application is being able to estimate the space-time transfer function (Green’s function) between source-enclosure-receiver.  This approach begins with the acoustic mapping of an indoor muzzle blast. 

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Radiation Training Field Simulator (RaFTS).

There are three main components to the RaFTS system: 1) the radiation detector, which can be of any type and from any manufacturer; 2) the RaFTS electronics, which produce the electronic pulses that are injected into the electronics of the radiation detector through a (to be) standardized port interface; and 3) the exercise scenario, which defines the synthetic radiation field and time-varying…

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Transparent Scintillators

Transparent ceramic fabrication allows the production of gadolinium- , lutetium-, and terbium-based garnets which are difficult to grow by melt techniques due to phase instabilities. Phase stabilization of the garnets is accomplished by the addition of the intersubstitutional ions, Gallium and/or Scandium.

Scientists have developed many versatile and scaleable fabrication methods.…

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Marine helmet

LLNL's high fidelity hydrocode is capable of predicting blast loads and directly coupling those loads to structures to predict a mechanical response. By combining this code and our expertise in modeling blast-structure interaction and damage, along with our access to experimental data and testing facilities, we can contribute to the design of protective equipment that can better mitigate the…

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Next generation pillar detector

LLNL's neutron "Pillar Detector" fabrication technology uses semiconductor-based micro-structured elements as an electrical signal generation medium for the detection of neutrons. These materials in the form of semiconductor "pillars" embedded in matrix of high cross-section neutron converter materials (such as Boron) that emit charged particles upon interaction with neutrons. These charged…

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Natalia Zaitseva examines a single crystal growing in a solution-growth crystallizer developed for production of stilbene crystals for fast neutron detection

LLNL researchers have grown and characterized scintillator crystals of Strontium Iodide (SrI2). Scintillator energy resolution and light yield proportionality surpass NaI and are similar to LaBr3. The SrI2 scintillators doped with europium (Eu) exhibit very high light yields (> 100,000 photons/MeV), extremely good energy resolution (<3% at 662 keV) and excellent light yield…

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Radiation Sign

The LLNL detector measures radiation over a large dynamic range, spanning both high hazardous levels and weak levels, including natural background radiation. In weak radiation fields, the detector also measures gamma-ray spectra. The cost of the detector is significantly less than the total cost of existing separate detectors that could perform the same measurements.

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STJ x-ray spectrometer (shown on the table) to characterize a material sample.

LLNL's X-ray spectrometers based on STJ have been developed for high-resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy. STJ consist of two superconducting thin film electrodes separated by a thin insulating tunnel barrier. They measure X-ray energies from the increase in tunneling current after X-ray absorption in one of the electrodes excites additional charge carriers above the superconducting energy gap.…

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gemini

LLNL has developed a radiation detector that cools to operating temperatures in 1-2 hours using two separate cooling stages. The first cooling brings the instrument to operating temperature. The embedded second cooling system achieves portable detection that can be sustained for 8-12 hours.

In addition, an integrated, hermetically-sealed package has been developed complete with…

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Natalia Zaitseva examines a single crystal growing in a solution-growth crystallizer developed for production of stilbene crystals for fast neutron detection

LLNL has identified solution-grown organic crystals having scintillation efficiency not only close to, but even exceeding that of stilbene.. LLNL's invention relates to a new class of neutron detectors based on scintillation response of organic single crystals. More specifically, the use of organic molecules grown from solution and to molecules including the basic benzene or phenyl structure…

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Truck approaching radiation portal monitor

LLNL scientists have developed an approach for full spectrum analysis during gamma ray spectrometry using a spectral library signature created from a large amount of spectral data. The signature can be compared to unknown spectral measurements for the identification of previously unknown nuclear material.

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Radio Active Materials processed

The invention utilizes the statistical nature of radiation transport as well as modern processing techniques to implement a physics-based, sequential statistical processor. By this we mean that instead of accumulating a pulse-height spectrum as is done in many other systems, each photon is processed individually upon arrival and then discarded. As each photon arrives, a decision is…

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plastic_scintillators

Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have developed a plastic that can detect neutrons, something previously thought impossible.

Livermore scientists demonstrated a plastic scintillator that can discriminate between neutrons and gamma rays with a polyvinyltoluene (PVT) polymer matrix loaded with a scintillating dye, 2,5-diphenyloxazole (PPO). They have found that…