Graphite-Diamond Transformation Induced by High-Intensity KrF Laser Target Irradiation

Abstract

Explosives or explosive-accelerated plane flyers can pressurize the examined material up to hundreds kilobars, but it is heated significantly by a shock wave. If a phase transition occurs during the sample loading, a high post-shock temperature will influence a new phase1. Laser irradiation of targets may produce ablation pressures in a multi-megabar range with temperature control by means of time profiling of a laser pulse or using an appropriate target design. This offers new opportunities in investigations of equation of state and phase transformations in compressed materials, in particular, diamond production by laser compression of graphite targets2.