Multi-megabar pressure and super-dense materials created by laser-induced micro-explosion inside of transparent solid

Extremely high pressure (∼10 Tpa) and temperature (5x105 K) have been produced using a single laser pulse (∼100 nJ, 800 nm, 200 fs) focused inside transparent dielectrics. The laser pulse of intensity over 0.1 PW/cm2 converts a material within the absorption volume of ∼0.15 μm3 into plasma in a few femtoseconds. A pressure of ∼10 Tpa, far exceeding the strength of any material builds up to the end of the pulse generating strong shock and rarefaction waves. This results in the formation of a nano-void surrounded by a shell of shock-compressed material. In sapphire, the compressed shell revealed that it has a density 1.14 times of the initial one and increased chemical reactivity. The unique conditions: extreme pressure and temperature at record high heating and cooling rates become available in a well-controlled laboratory environment