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Shock compression of diamond single crystals to 120 GPa: Refractive index and nonlinear photoelasticity

P. Renganathan1, J. M. Lang, Jr.2, Y. Toyoda1, J. M. Winey3,*, and Y. M. Gupta3,4

  • *Contact author: mwiney@wsu.edu
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Phys. Rev. B 113, 134103 – Published 2 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ymz4-tyml

Abstract

The optical response of transparent solids at extreme conditions is important for both fundamental science and many applications. Strong transparent solids are of particular interest for use as optical windows in dynamic compression experiments. Due to diamond's exceptional strength and optical properties, laser-driven shock experiments and plate impact experiments were carried out to examine the diamond optical response for shock wave compression along two different crystal orientations. Using laser interferometry at 532 and 1550 nm wavelengths, optical transparency was observed and refractive indices were determined for [100] diamond at stresses up to 119 GPa and for [111] diamond at stresses up to 87 GPa. From these results, the nonlinear photoelastic response for [100] and [111] diamond was determined, revealing significant dependence on both crystal orientation and laser wavelength. To enable [100] diamond as an interferometry window in dynamic compression experiments, the requisite window corrections were determined for 532 and 1550 nm wavelengths. Because of diamond's excellent x-ray transparency, the present findings will be particularly useful for incorporating [100] diamonds as windows in dynamic compression experiments involving x-ray diffraction or other x-ray diagnostics.

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Phys. Rev. B 113, 134103– Published 2 April, 2026
  • Received 16 December 2025
  • Revised 4 March 2026
  • Accepted 11 March 2026
Article part of CHORUS
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