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Schematic showing how laser can be used to induce localized heating

LLNL researchers developed a novel strategy that involves material transformations such as oxidation, nitridation, or carbonization. In one embodiment, copper is heated under ambient conditions resulting in its surface being oxidized and turned into copper oxide, where a new material (e.g., copper oxide) is developed via transformation (e.g., oxidation) without additional addition deposition…

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large potassium dihydrogen phosphate KDP crystal

This invention takes advantage of the high water-solubility of key NIF KDP crystal optics and uses water as an etchant to remove surface defects and improve the laser induced damage threshold. Since pure water etches KDP too fast, this invention is to disperse water as nanosized droplets in a water-in-oil micro-emulsion. While in a stable micro-emulsion form, the surfactant additives prevent…

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LLNL’s CO2 laser-based Optics Mitigation Facility adapted for controlled laser melting of glass optics.

This invention proposes to use laser induced melting/softening to locally reshape the form of a glass optic. The local glass densification that results induces predictable stresses that through plate deformation mechanics yield a deterministic methodology for arbitrarily reshaping an optic surface figure and wavefront without the need to remove material.

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ground-penetrating radar system developed for buried hazard detection

A set of images generated by multiple passes over the same area can be coherently integrated by this technology developed by LLNL researchers.  The primary difficulty with coherently combining different passes is registering the images obtained from each pass, particularly if a pass only partially covers a given area.

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A digital twin (right) is the virtual representation of real-world objects and processes (left)

LLNL’s novel approach utilizes a number of techniques to improve reconstruction accuracy:

  • Better coding scheme-based techniques
  • Hardware-assisted techniques
  • Adaptive fringe projection techniques
  • Multi-exposure based techniques

The method requires specific calibration procedures and control of the hardware, which is achieved through a digital twin…

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​​Drone-based GPR

LLNL researchers have developed a lightweight drone-based GPR array that when flown over a surface with laid and/or buried objects could image the field of view and be able to detect targets and discriminate them from clutter. The imaging method employs a modified multi-static architecture to provide the highest signal to noise with the lowest system weight, making it ideal for airborne or…

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Triband Image Rendering

This technology uses three different frequency bands to create intensity maps of returned signals.  Signals have traditionally been displayed as raw return data. The intensity of the return is represented by level of brightness. Assignment of a scalar value for intensity is used to determine the brightness of the image.   In this technology, each frequency is given a designated…

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A cold-spray chamber is shown during deposition, with the nozzle at the top of the image and a near-full density sample being fabricated in the center. Particles of the brittle thermoelectric bismuth telluride are accelerated to more than 900 meters per second, or almost Mach 3, in inert gas and directed onto a copper surface, laying down the strips that form the basis of a functioning thermoelectric generator to harvest waste heat. Graphic by Jacob Long/LLNL
Versatile Cold Spray (VCS) enables deposition of brittle materials, such as thermoelectrics, magnets, and insulators, while retaining their functional properties. Materials can be deposited on substrates or arbitrary shapes with no requirement to match compositions. The VCS system is low cost, easily portable, and easy to use. VCS has been developed in a collaboration between Lawrence Livermore…
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demo_sys

LLNL has developed a wide band (WB) ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology to detect and image buried objects under a moving vehicle. Efficient and high performance processing algorithms reconstruct images of buried or hidden objects in two or three dimensions under a scanning array. The technology includes a mobile high-performance computing system allowing GPR array sensor data to be…

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Hand polishing optics

LLNL's Slurry Stabilization Method provides a chemical means of stabilizing a polishing compound in suspension at working concentrations without reducing the rate of material removal. The treated product remains stable for many months in storage.