High-power laser beam shaping using a metasurface for shock excitation and focusing at the microscale
Abstract
Achieving high repeatability and efficiency in laser-induced strong shock wave excitation remains a significant technical challenge, as evidenced by the extensive efforts undertaken at large-scale national laboratories to optimize the compression of light element pellets. In this study, we propose and model a novel optical design for generating strong shocks at a tabletop scale. Our approach leverages the spatial and temporal shaping of multiple laser pulses to form concentric laser rings on condensed matter samples. Each laser ring initiates a two-dimensional focusing shock wave that overlaps and converges with preceding shock waves at a central point within the ring. We present preliminary experimental results for a single ring configuration. To enable high-power laser focusing at the micron scale, we demonstrate experimentally the feasibility of employing dielectric metasurfaces with exceptional damage threshold, experimentally determined to be 1.1 J/cm2, as replacements for conventional optics. These metasurfaces enable the creation of pristine, high-fluence laser rings essential for launching stable shock waves in materials. Herein, we showcase results obtained using a water sample, achieving shock pressures in the gigapascal (GPa) range. Our findings provide a promising pathway towards the application of laser-induced strong shock compression in condensed matter at the microscale.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Sep 07, 2023
- Source ID
- 10.1364/oe.487894
Entities
People
- Federico Capasso
- Jet Lem
- Keith A. Nelson
- Marcus Ossiander
- Maryna L. Meretska
- Steven E Kooi
- Thomas Pezeril
- Vyacheslav Sokurenko
- Yun Kai
Organizations
- Direction générale de l'Armement
- German Academic Exchange Service
- Harvard University
- Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute
- Institut de Physique de Rennes
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- National Science Foundation
- United States Army Research Laboratory
- United States Department of Defense