Generation of Ultra-High Pressure Shocks in 0.26 μm Wavelength Laser Experiments

Abstract

The application of high-power pulsed lasers to generate ultra-high pressure shock waves has opened possibilities for studying the properties of materials under extreme pressure and temperature conditions. The traditional laboratory experiments currently permit one to obtain pressures well below 1 TPa; this pressure range has been largely extended by using laser-driven shock waves, such as early experiments have shown [1,2]. Recently, some short-wavelength laser experiments, realized at 0.35 μm [3] and at 0.26 μm [4,5] laser wavelengths, have shown the possibility of easily reaching pressures comparable to those measured in nuclear-explosion driven shock waves [6]. In this paper, we report experiments based on two techniques to increase the laser-induced shock pressure: impedance-match and flyer-plate techniques.