Hugoniot measurement of diamond under laser shock compression up to 2 TPa

Hugoniot data of diamond was obtained using laser-driven shock waves in the terapascal range of 0.5-2 TPa. Strong shock waves were generated by direct irradiation of a 2.5 ns laser pulse on an Al driver plate. The shock wave velocities in diamond and Al were determined from optical measurements. Particle velocities and pressures were obtained using an impedance matching method and known Al Hugoniot. The obtained Hugoniot data of diamond does not show a marked difference from the extrapolations of the Pavlovskii Hugoniot data in the TPa range within experimental errors. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.