Isentropic/shock compression and recovery methodology for materials using high-amplitude laser pulses

A new method of subjecting samples to high-amplitude laser pulses with durations in the ns range and recovering them for characterization is presented. It is applied to tantalum monocrystals and nanocrystals that are subjected to controlled and prescribed ramp loading configurations, creating a quasi-isentropic loading in the front that is retained up to 40 μm into the specimen. This is enabled by the use of a reservoir into which six laser beams impinge simultaneously, thereby creating plasma in a reservoir, from which the pulse is launched into the metal. This technique enables, with proper wave trapping devices, the recovery of the specimens for subsequent characterization. Successful experiments conducted in the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, U. of Rochester, generated pressure pulses with initial amplitudes ranging from 15 to 110 GPa and initial durations of ∼3 ns. The quasi-isotropic loading minimizes thermal effects at the front surface. The compression history of the recovered samples is measured using velocity interferometry from an Al-coated LiF witness target on the same shot driven by a separate, but equivalent set of laser beams. These experimental measurements are compared with computations using a radiation hydrodynamics code. Recovered samples are investigated using optical, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. The laser damage to the surface is characterized.