In the last five years ICF scientists at LLNL have published approximately the same number of technical papers as the scientists employed by the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago. Advisory Panel consisting of academics from the Institute of Urban and Regional Development and the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy. The BAE study assessed the potential impacts of new technologies resulting from NIF construction and those that may result from NIF use after construction. The potential impacts of technical innovations on the national economy, on science and technology, on the quality of life of the average citizen, and on the Laboratory itself were assessed. The first two of the above were chosen for detailed examination and industry experts were consulted to estimate the potential impacts.
Lithography is the process by which computer chips are made.
Optical lithography processes have steadily progressed making it possible to pack more and more capability into each chip so that computing power has become less expensive. However, the industry is facing a new challenge to its growth. Lithographic processes using visible light have almost reached their theoretical limit of improvement. In order for progress to continue, the lithographic process must use shorter wavelength radiation than visible light, that is either EUV or X-rays. The MIR technology evolved from the need for very fast instruments that could take millions of pieces of data during the billionth of a second that each ICF experiment lasts.