The behavior of tantalum under ultrashort loads induced by femtosecond laser

We studied the shock-wave and ablation phenomena in tantalum films of submicron thicknesses irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses. The single-shot spectral interferometry was used for continuous diagnostics of movement in a picosecond range both the frontal and rear surfaces of a sample. Measured displacement histories were converted into surface velocity histories. As a result, the new data on shear and tensile strength have been obtained for solid and molten tantalum at strain rate similar to 10(9) s(-1).