Scientific Reports (Aug 2023)

X-ray free electron laser observation of ultrafast lattice behaviour under femtosecond laser-driven shock compression in iron

  • Tomokazu Sano,
  • Tomoki Matsuda,
  • Akio Hirose,
  • Mitsuru Ohata,
  • Tomoyuki Terai,
  • Tomoyuki Kakeshita,
  • Yuichi Inubushi,
  • Takahiro Sato,
  • Kohei Miyanishi,
  • Makina Yabashi,
  • Tadashi Togashi,
  • Kensuke Tono,
  • Osami Sakata,
  • Yoshinori Tange,
  • Kazuto Arakawa,
  • Yusuke Ito,
  • Takuo Okuchi,
  • Tomoko Sato,
  • Toshimori Sekine,
  • Tsutomu Mashimo,
  • Nobuhiko Nakanii,
  • Yusuke Seto,
  • Masaya Shigeta,
  • Takahisa Shobu,
  • Yuji Sano,
  • Tomonao Hosokai,
  • Takeshi Matsuoka,
  • Toshinori Yabuuchi,
  • Kazuo A. Tanaka,
  • Norimasa Ozaki,
  • Ryosuke Kodama

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-40283-6
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Abstract Over the past century, understanding the nature of shock compression of condensed matter has been a major topic. About 20 years ago, a femtosecond laser emerged as a new shock-driver. Unlike conventional shock waves, a femtosecond laser-driven shock wave creates unique microstructures in materials. Therefore, the properties of this shock wave may be different from those of conventional shock waves. However, the lattice behaviour under femtosecond laser-driven shock compression has never been elucidated. Here we report the ultrafast lattice behaviour in iron shocked by direct irradiation of a femtosecond laser pulse, diagnosed using X-ray free electron laser diffraction. We found that the initial compression state caused by the femtosecond laser-driven shock wave is the same as that caused by conventional shock waves. We also found, for the first time experimentally, the temporal deviation of peaks of stress and strain waves predicted theoretically. Furthermore, the existence of a plastic wave peak between the stress and strain wave peaks is a new finding that has not been predicted even theoretically. Our findings will open up new avenues for designing novel materials that combine strength and toughness in a trade-off relationship.