OFF-AXIS HOLOGRAPHY OF LASER-INDUCED SHOCK-WAVE TARGETS

Shock waves of the order of hundreds of kilobars are produced in a tin foil 50 mu m thick by a Nd:YAG laser system with a wavelength of 1.06 mu m, pulse width of 7 ns [full width at half-maximum (FWHM)] and irr adiance in the range (1.4-2.4) x 10(13) W/cm(2), focused to a spot of 200 mu m. Off-axis holographic measurements of the target, after 0.5 a nd 1 mu s from the shock arrival, are reported. The hologram is produc ed by backscattering of a pulse, 6.5 ns (FWHM) of green laser light, f rom the ejected material from the target. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.