Nanosecond time-resolved multiprobe imaging of laser damage in transparent solids

Abstract

We report the nanosecond time-scale and micron length-scale dynamics of elastic wave, plastic deformation, melt-front and crack propagation during laser-induced damage in the bulk of an optically transparent crystalline solid. Time-delayed probe pulses with wavelengths corresponding to RGB-color filters are used to obtain multiple images during a single damage event. This technique enables "real-time" dynamical studies of complex transient phenomena. © 2002 American Institute of Physics.