CORTEX FUSIONSystems, Inc.
regimeultrafast laser nuclear
HQNew York, NY
∞Cortex Fusion Systems

Nuclear energy using ultrafast lasers.

01Fusion energy 02Hybrid fusion-fission reactors 03Uranium enrichment
01Fusion

Overcoming the critical density horizon.

I
Underdense targets — deuterated aerogels at densities between 0.01–2 nc — permit the laser to propagate through the bulk over millimetre paths. Energy deposits volumetrically, not at a surface. Barrier I is eliminated.
patented
II
Direct laser acceleration: the pulse carves an ion channel. Electrons gain energy resonantly on every oscillation cycle, reaching MeV energies and streaming forward, dragging deuterons behind them via magnetic-field coupling.
peer-reviewed
III
Laguerre-Gauss beams with orbital angular momentum produce longitudinal fields and azimuthal magnetic pinch. The result is a collimated deuteron beam — a laser-driven ion collider.
patented
IV
Beam-beam geometry: two counter-propagating OAM beams create overlapping hot-electron channels. Cold-electron scattering drops from 2×107 barns to 1.6 barns. G rises from 0.2 to ∼133.
barrier eliminated

A compact, high-repetition-rate fusion source that bypasses the hydrodynamic instabilities, facility scale, and target cost of inertial confinement fusion.

02Hybrid Fusion-Fission

Subcritical assemblies driven by laser fusion neutrons.

Fusion neutrons from Cortex's laser drive a subcritical fission blanket — yielding nuclear energy without a self-sustaining chain reaction. The reactor cannot melt down because it cannot sustain criticality: remove the neutron source, and the reaction stops.

This architecture breeds and burns fuel inside the reactor, reducing fuel costs and waste, and qualifies for an entirely different regulatory pathway — without evacuation zones, and compatible with co-location at industrial sites.

03Laser Uranium Enrichment

A new method for isotope separation using ultrafast lasers.

Every previous attempt at laser uranium enrichment — AVLIS, MLIS, SILEX, CRISLA — required expensive narrowband lasers with low throughput. Billions were spent. None achieved commercial enrichment.

Cortex has invented a fundamentally different approach using commodity broadband ultrafast lasers. High assays in a single pass. Throughput sufficient to satisfy the entire national demand for high-assay low-enriched uranium from a single facility.

04Patents

Worldwide patent portfolio.

US 17/855,476 · PCT/US2022/035845 · EP · JP
Fusion Reactor Using Bichromatic Optical Control of Quantum Tunneling
Read on WIPO →
US 18/935,092 · PCT/US24/54271
Fusion Reactor Using Optical Control of Quantum Tunneling
Read on WIPO →
US 19/316,087
Bichromatic Femtosecond Direct Acceleration in Renewing Liquid Jets Using Nanoparticle-Gap Near-Fields for High-Gain Fusion
US 63/802,958
D2O-Moderated, Fluid-Cooled, Hybrid Fusion-Fission Reactor System Utilizing Unenriched Uranium Fuel and Direct Brayton Cycle
US 63/792,117
Modern Small Modular Hybrid Fusion-Fission Reactor
US 63/748,178
Fusion Reactor Using Laser Control of Nanoshell Surface Plasmon Resonance
US 63/682,691
Neutron Source, Thermal Management System, and Electrical Generator Assembly Using Poincaré Engineering of Nuclear Fusion
US 18/479,950
Quantum Phase Control of Nuclear Wavepacket Tunneling Incorporating Multiphoton Processes or Relativistic Gain Media
US 63/472,657
Coherent Control Based on Quantum Zeno and Anti-Zeno Effects
US 63/596,122
Chiral Catalysis of Nuclear Fusion in Molecules
US 63/653,161 · US 63/668,615
Infrared-Class Chiral Fusion Reactors
US 63/817,085
System for Seabed Mineral Prospecting and Mining: High-Resolution Geochemical Mapping and Resource Assessment of Deep-Sea Critical Minerals
US 63/974,702
Laser Uranium Enrichment
US 63/996,961
Laser Uranium Enrichment
05Publications

Peer-reviewed science.

Fusion in a nanoshell: Harnessing plasmonic fields for nuclear reactions
arXiv:2503.15531
Chiral catalysis of nuclear fusion in molecules
arXiv:2311.03492
Ultrafast laser architectures for quantum control of nuclear fusion
arXiv:2308.07417
Coherent control based on quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects: Role of coherences and timing
arXiv:2306.08311
06Team

Built to bring nuclear energy from first principles to the grid.

Jake Levitt
President & CTO
Quantum physicist. Combined B.S./M.S., Yale University. NSF and Quantum Foundry Research Fellow (UCSB). Ultrafast laser control of nuclear dynamics. Founded Cortex Fusion Systems in 2021.
Brian Royston
CFO
Took SolarCity public. Deep energy finance and capital markets experience across renewables.
Dr. Arvinder Sandhu
Head of Laser Physics
Leads a team of 60 researchers. World expert in ultrafast laser-matter interactions and attosecond science.
Dr. Mark Holl
Chief Engineer
Built a $170M particle accelerator facility. Deep expertise in large-scale physics facility design, construction, and commissioning.
Dr. Niranjan Shivaram
Collaborator — Laser Physics
Rapid prototyping and software development for neutronics simulations. Ultrafast laser-matter interaction expert.
Dr. Stylianos Chatzidakis
Collaborator — Nuclear Engineering
Nuclear engineering expert. Research reactor operations and subcritical assembly design.
Dr. Alexey Arefiev
Collaborator — Laser-Plasma Physics
Leading laser-plasma physicist. 3D particle-in-cell simulation of structured-light fusion and beam-beam geometry at scale.
07Contact

Get in touch.

250 Park Avenue, 7th Floor  ·  New York, NY 10177