Development of Single-Shot Multi-Frame Imaging of Cylindrical Shock Waves for Deeper Understanding of a Multi-Layered Target Geometry

We demonstrate single-shot multi-frame imaging of cylindrically converging laser-induced shock waves propagating through a previously reported multi-layer target. Visualization of the shock with sequences of up to 16 images enabled the monitoring of extra image features that had not been seen previously with this geometry. The additional image features from the sequences were compared to simulations that demonstrated shock transmission and dissipation among all layers of the target assembly. These findings add to our previous understanding of the concentric rings seen in the images. The multi-frame imaging approach enabled us to visualize shocks with sufficient reproducibility and clarity to observe multi-wave shock dynamics that indicate newly observed complexity in this system.