Interferometric analysis of laser-driven cylindrically focusing shock waves in a thin liquid layer

Area of Science:

• Condensed matter physics
• Laser-driven shock waves
• Optical diagnostics

Background:

• Shock waves are vital in diverse scientific and technological fields.
• High spatial resolution diagnostic techniques are needed for shock wave studies.
• Laser-matter interactions generate shock waves for research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate laser-driven focusing shock waves in a thin liquid layer.
• To develop and apply time-resolved interferometric imaging for shock wave analysis.
• To extract density profiles of shocked materials with high spatial resolution.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an all-optical experimental setup.
• Generated shock waves in a 10 µm water layer using picosecond laser pulses focused in a ring.
• Employed a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with time-delayed femtosecond laser pulses for imaging.

Main Results:

• Successfully traced the convergence and divergence of laser-driven shock waves.
• Observed the formation of a cavitation bubble due to shock wave dynamics.
• Extracted quantitative density profiles of the shocked liquid layer from interferograms.

Conclusions:

• Time-resolved interferometric imaging is effective for studying shock wave phenomena.
• The experimental approach provides high spatial resolution density measurements.
• This method offers potential for spatially resolved spectroscopic studies of shocked materials.