2D Shock focusing

We propose to apply a laser-driven 2D in-plane shock focusing technique developed by our group, that can reach ten’s of GPa with conventional mJ lasers, to scrutiny from time-resolved x-ray diffraction on the ID09 beamline, the shock loading (excitation, propagation and focusing) in crystalline samples. The measurements will be made on SrTiO3:Nb substrates, a very common substrate used for growth of thin- films, that can efficiently absorb the picosecond laser pulse and launch a ring-shaped surface shock-wave that acoustically focuses at the center of the ring where the pressure jumps very substantially. We intend to track the x-ray diffraction peaks shifts that correspond to in-plane shock stresses characteristics of standard surface (non-linear) acoustic waves. These studies will unveil the onset of the shock focusing and enable a very accurate calibration of the shock stresses for futur experiments on thin films of correlated materials deposited on SrTiO3:Nb substrates.