Extreme Energy Density Confined Inside a Transparent Crystal: Status and Perspectives of Solid-Plasma-Solid Transformations

• Published in: Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2018-07, Vol.8 (7), p.555
• Main Authors: Gamaly, Eugene G, Juodkazis, Saulius, Rode, Andrei V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beams (radiation); Energy; Flux density; Gaussian beams (optics); high-pressure/density conditions; Lasers; light-matter interaction; phase transitions; Photonics; Physics; Plasma; ultra-short laser pulses
• ISSN: 2079-4991; 2079-4991
• DOI: 10.3390/nano8070555

It was demonstrated during the past decade that an ultra-short intense laser pulse tightly-focused deep inside a transparent dielectric generates an energy density in excess of several MJ/cm3. Such an energy concentration with extremely high heating and fast quenching rates leads to unusual solid-plasma-solid transformation paths, overcoming kinetic barriers to the formation of previously unknown high-pressure material phases, which are preserved in the surrounding pristine crystal. These results were obtained with a pulse of a Gaussian shape in space and in time. Recently, it has been shown that the Bessel-shaped pulse could transform a much larger amount of material and allegedly create even higher energy density than what was achieved with the Gaussian beam (GB) pulses. Here, we present a succinct review of previous results and discuss the possible routes for achieving higher energy density employing the Bessel beam (BB) pulses and take advantage of their unique properties.