Laser-matter interaction in the bulk of a transparent solid: Confined microexplosion and void formation

We present here the experimental and theoretical studies of a single femtosecond laser pulse interaction inside a bulk of transparent media (sapphire, glass, polymer). This interaction leads to the drastic transformations in a solid resulting in a void formation inside a dielectric. The laser pulse energy is absorbed within a volume of approximately 0.15 μ m3 creating a pressure and temperature comparable to that in the core of a strong multi-kilo-tons explosion. The material within this volume is rapidly atomized, ionized, and converted into a tiny super-hot dense cloud of expanding plasma that generates strong shock and rarefaction waves which result in the formation of a void, whose diameter is ∼200 nm (for a 100 nJ pulse in sapphire). The way this structure forms can be understood from high-temperature plasma hydrodynamics. We demonstrate that unique states of matter characterized by temperatures ∼ 105 K, heating rates up to the 1018 K s, and pressures more than 100 times the strength of any material were created using a standard table-top laser in well-controlled laboratory conditions. We discuss the properties of the laser-affected solid and possible routes of laser-affected material transformation to the final state long after the pulse end. These studies will find application for the design of new materials and three-dimensional optical memory devices, and for formation of photonic band-gap crystals.