Measurement of laser driven shock wave transit time through thin aluminium targets by optical shadowgraphy

Laser driven shock wave transit time in thin aluminium targets was experimentally estimated by determining the shock emergence time at the rear of thin aluminium foils of varying thickness from 5 to 35 μm. A 20 J, 5 ns Nd:glass laser was focused to produce laser intensity of 10¹² to 5 × 10¹³ W/cm² on the targets which were placed in vacuum. Target foil movement was measured to an accuracy of 10 μm using optical shadowgraphy technique. This technique was used to accurately measure the shock transit time by recording the optical shadowgrams at various instants of time and thus identify the instant at which the foil is just set into motion. Shock transit time measured in foils of different thickness can give the value of shock velocity at a given laser intensity. Target motion recorded by shadowgraphy can also give the target foil velocity from which shock pressure can be estimated. Experimental values of shock transit time, shock velocity and shock pressure were observed to agree well with the values using one-dimensional multi-group radiation hydrodynamic simulations. PACS 52.50Jm; 52.50Lp; 52.25 Communicated by K. Takayama