Megabar Shocks on a Benchtop — Draconitic Research

Abstract

Techniques to generate megabar (100 GPa) pressure are critical for the study of materials under extreme conditions. However, kJ-class lasers are typically needed to generate such extreme pressures. Here, we present a method to reach megabar pressure on a benchtop using only tens of mJ a few millijoules of laser pulse energy. The core of our method is the utilization of multiple laser rings of different diameters and time delays to additively excite a focusing shock wave. Using high-speed imaging and a streak camera, we measured the shock trajectory and inferred pressure, temperature and density using hydrocode simulation. Our shock compression efficiency, informed by hydrocode, has achieved 23 GPa/mJ. If scaled up, our method may enable high-energy-density experiments on a benchtop.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{kai2026megabar,
  title = {{Megabar Shocks on a Benchtop}},
  author = {Yun Kai and Min Kim and Senpeng Lin and Zhen Sang and Jacob Gordon and Steven E. Kooi and Alexei Maznev and Thomas Pezeril and Cyril Williams and Tom Lockard and Damian Swift and Keith A. Nelson},
  howpublished = {HAL},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.20749},
  eprint = {2610.20749},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://hal.science/hal-05805264v1},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Megabar Shocks on a Benchtop
AU  - Yun Kai
AU  - Min Kim
AU  - Senpeng Lin
AU  - Zhen Sang
AU  - Jacob Gordon
AU  - Steven E. Kooi
AU  - Alexei Maznev
AU  - Thomas Pezeril
AU  - Cyril Williams
AU  - Tom Lockard
AU  - Damian Swift
AU  - Keith A. Nelson
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/14
PB  - HAL
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.20749
UR  - https://hal.science/hal-05805264v1
AB  - Techniques to generate megabar (100 GPa) pressure are critical for the study of materials under extreme conditions. However, kJ-class lasers are typically needed to generate such extreme pressures. Here, we present a method to reach megabar pressure on a benchtop using only tens of mJ a few millijoules of laser pulse energy. The core of our method is the utilization of multiple laser rings of different diameters and time delays to additively excite a focusing shock wave. Using high-speed imaging and a streak camera, we measured the shock trajectory and inferred pressure, temperature and density using hydrocode simulation. Our shock compression efficiency, informed by hydrocode, has achieved 23 GPa/mJ. If scaled up, our method may enable high-energy-density experiments on a benchtop.
ER  -

Abstract

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