Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University

OverviewOVERVIEW

Overview of our Institute

Our Institute has led the world in the development and application of laser technologies since the foundation of its forerunner, the Laser Engineering Research Facility under the School of Engineering, Osaka University. In particular, its laser fusion research is an interdisciplinary field that will respond to societal demands, especially in the pursuit of realizing the ‘ultimate’ energy source, nuclear fusion. While the Institute is placed as a global leader in fusion research, it has also spun-out numerous derivative and widely applicable technologies which have been developed in the course of this research. The Institute has a very strong international presence and its excellence as a research institute is widely recognized — it has been acknowledged as a world leader in laser science research, and it has led to the pioneering of some of Japan’s unique, novel academic fields, such as laser astrophysics and plasma photonics. Furthermore, the Institute has independently developed one of the world’s largest power laser facilities, and takes full advantage of this equipment in its research endeavors. Our laser research facility, which has been designated as a Joint Usage / Research Center by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, is one with the world’s highest capacity, and is 100 percent open to researchers from around the globe. We have contributed, and will continue to contribute, to the creation of novel scientific fields and industrial innovation, while living up to the high international standards that both we and the wider research community hold us to.

Currently, our Institute’s research is mainly led by the following four divisions: the Radiation & Quantum Beam Science Division, which strives for further advancement in some of our strongest fields, namely photonic materials science, terahertz photonics, power photonics, and, notably, plasma photonics, which is a field unique to our Institute; the High Energy-Density Science Division, which aims to open up novel and unique scientific fields that handle high energy-density plasmas (e.g., laser astrophysics); the Laser Fusion Science Division, which engages with a wide range of studies with the aim of establishing fusion energy technology, anticipated to provide an ‘ultimate’ energy source for the planet; and the Theory and Computing Science Division, which links different scientific fields into interdisciplinary, collaborative research based on plasma physics, such as physico-informatics.

Looking towards the future, we plan to establish a system that allows us to introduce further projects, as well as to foster a greater degree of collaboration with industry.

History of our Institute

1972 Laser Engineering Research Facility of the School of Engineering was founded at Osaka University
Laser Materials Division was set up
1973 Laser Dynamic Characteristics Division was set up
1976 Institute of Laser Fusion, Osaka University was founded
(as part of a reorganization of the Laser Engineering Research Facility)
Laser Simulation Engineering Division was founded
1977 Laser Energy Science Division was founded
1979 Laser Pellet Engineering Division was founded (limited term of ten years)
1980 Laser Diagnostic Science Division was founded (limited term of ten years)
1981 Laser Implosive Engineering Division was founded (limited term of ten years)
1982 Energy Transfer Engineering Division was founded (limited term of ten years)
1989 Fusion Target Engineering Division was founded (replacing the Laser Pellet Engineering Division)
1990 Fusion, Super-High-Density Plasmas, and Measurement Division was founded (replacing the Laser Diagnostic Science Division and the Laser Implosive Engineering Division)
1992 Fusion Driver Control Engineering Division was founded (replacing the Energy Transfer Engineering Division)
Department of International Invited Scholars was founded
1999 Divisions were reorganized into four major limited-term Divisions
(High-Power Laser Engineering, Implosive Fusion, Laser Plasmas Science and Engineering, and Super-High-Intensity Photonics)
2004 Osaka University became a National University Corporation
Institute of Laser Engineering was founded
The Institute of Laser Engineering and Research Center for Superconductor Photonics of the Graduate School of Engineering were consolidated
2006 The Institute of Laser Engineering was designated as a Joint Use Facility
2010 The Institute of Laser Engineering was designated as a Joint Usage / Research Center
2017 The Institute of Laser Engineering was reorganized into the Institute of Laser Science
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