This volume of the LLE review, covering the period of January-March 1995, contains articles on the evaluation of the mechanism for laser damage in OMEGA UV multilayer coatings using a combination of conventional laser-damage characterization methods and atomic force microscopy; a dual-amplitude, fiber-coupled waveguide integrated-optic modulation device for generating temporally shaped optical pulses in OMEGA-, a proposal for modifying the indirect-drive irradiation geometry of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to provide the additional flexibility for performing direct-drive experiments; direct measurements of terminal-level lifetime in several different Nd:YLF laser media; an overview of the materials science issues, basic mechanisms, and potential device applications for light-emitting porous silicon; and a study of the time-dependent reflection and surface temperatures for laser-irradiated dental hard tissue at two CO{sub 2} laser wavelengths.

This volume of the LLE Review, covering the period of April--June 1995, includes a description of the initial performance results of the upgraded OMEGA laser system. A series of acceptance tests were completed, demonstrating that all 60 beams can irradiate targets with more energy and better beam balance than was required by the Department of Energy`s acceptance criteria. Other articles in this volume include a description of a novel energy measurement system used to diagnose all 60 OMEGA beams; a theoretical calculation of the cutoff wave number of the ablative Rayleigh-Taylor instability, applicable to both direct and indirect drive; a description of a new algorithm used for designing distributed phase plates that will produce super-Gaussian focal-plane irradiance profiles: a study of the photoresponse of high-{Tc} YBCO thin films; and a description of magnetorheological finishing, a new process for optics polishing.

This volume of the LLE Review, covering the period July--September 1995, includes a description of the first target experiments performed on the upgraded OMEGA laser system. These experiments, carried out to active and test several diagnostics systems, have demonstrated successful functioning of the overall experimental system and have produced high neutron yields and high core temperatures. Other articles in this volume describe the diagnosis of core conditions using krypton line spectroscopy, a mix model for LILAC that can be applied to study the deceleration instability at the pusher-core interface, a simulated-annealing algorithm for improved phase-plate design, a simple method for characterizing the thickness and uniformity of transparent laser-fusion targets, and femtosecond pump-probe experiments on semiconducting YBCO.