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 μm thick by a Nd:YAG laser system with a wavelength of 1.06 μm, pulse width of 7 ns [full width at half-maximum (FWHM)] and irradiance in the range (1.4–2.4)×1013 W/cm2, focused to a spot of 200 μm. Off-axis holographic measurements of the target, after 0.5 and 1 μs from the shock arrival, are reported. The hologram is produced by backscattering of a pulse, 6.5 ns (FWHM) of green laser light, from the ejected material from the target.