# Xcimer Energy publishes peer-reviewed SBS breakthrough enabling cheaper laser fusion

_Friday, June 26, 2026 at 10:02 PM EDT · science · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

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Researchers from Xcimer Energy, the University of Illinois and the University of Alberta have published peer-reviewed measurements of Stimulated Brillouin Scattering gain and spectral structure in low-pressure noble gases. The paper appeared in APL Photonics and reports the first absolute high-resolution data on the process.

The measurements overturn assumptions in standard models that have guided nonlinear optical physics for decades. They show that SBS in atmospheric-pressure gases follows kinetic rather than hydrodynamic physics and produces interaction strengths more than an order of magnitude larger than textbook predictions.

The results confirm a central element of Xcimer's laser fusion design. That architecture generates microsecond-scale pulses from low-cost excimer lasers and compresses them roughly 1,000 times via SBS in low-pressure noble gases. The approach requires far fewer material optics than conventional solid-state systems and avoids damage limits that constrain those systems.

Conner Galloway, CEO and co-founder of Xcimer Energy, said the data show that the physics in standard SBS models is incorrect for low-pressure noble gases. He added that the kinetic model governs the process and enables multi-megajoule-class laser systems.

Dr. Andrey Mironov, who led the experiment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said the paper demonstrates that Xcimer's architecture is viable from an SBS physics perspective. The work was funded by Xcimer and conducted at UIUC.

## Sources

- [Xcimer Energy](https://xcimer.energy/stimulated-brillouin-scattering/)

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Retrieved: 2026-06-27T07:16:08.479Z
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