A new target design for laser shock-compression studies of carbon reflectivity in the megabar regime

A new design for targets employed in laser induced shock-compression experiments is presented. Numerical simulations to optimize target parameters and to clarify shock dynamics are realized. The experiments proved the new scheme is reliable and appropriate for reflectivity measurements of thermodynamical states lying out of the standard graphite or diamond Hugoniot: the final state reached in compression can be varied tuning the carbon layer characteristics (initial density and thickness) and the laser intensity, with the possibility to determine the reflectivity of carbon and the position on the phase diagram. An increase of reflectivity in carbon has been observed at 260 GPa and 14 000 K while no increase in reflectivity is found at 200 GPa and 20 000 K.