Laser Shock Waves: Fundamentals and Applications

International audienceHigh power pulsed laser (above 1GW/cm²) interaction with matter yields to very high amplitude pressureloadings with very short durations, initiating into solids a strong short shock wave. Compared to theconventional generators of shock (launchers of projectiles, explosives), these particular characteristicsoffer the possibility to study the behaviour of matter under extreme dynamic conditions, with a possiblerecovery of the shocked samples presenting the effects of the passage of the shock in most cases. Thisarticle introduces the principle of laser shock generation, the characterization of these shocks, principalmechanisms and some effects associated with their propagation in the solids (spallation, Laser AdhesionTest, geological applications)