Laser Shock Wave Induced Crystallization

Formation of crystals in saturated and undersaturated solutions is studied as a result of intense sound, or shock waves, produced by high intensity focused laser pulses. Many tiny crystals are created immediately throughout the solution by the laser-generated sound waves. The compression waves can be created by focusing within the liquid or onto the walls of a container. This new method allows for the instantaneous formation of many “seed” crystals, which are then available for further impurity-free crystal growth. More importantly, the tiny “baby” crystals can be harvested before complete growth into “adult” crystals can occur. This method is shown to produce enough “baby” crystals to provide a glimpse into the initial stages of crystal growth using modern microscopy techniques such as SEM. By employing this new method, simple salts such as sodium bromate, sodium chloride, sodium chlorate, and tartaric acid were successfully crystallized. This method of crystal growth may also allow for the generation of...