We are developing fluorescent probes to obtain dynamic two-dimensional pressure maps of shocked microstructured materials. We have fabricated silica nano-or micro-spheres doped with rhodamine 6G dye (R6G) which fluoresce strongly, and which may be dispersed throughout a microstructured sample. Alternatively we can grow thin skin layers of dye-doped silica on the surface of particles. The emissive microspheres were embedded in poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) and were excited by a quasi-continuous laser. When the samples were shocked to 3–8.4 GPa using laser-driven flyer plates, the emission redshifted and lost intensity. When encapsulating the dye in silica, the emission became brighter and the intensity-loss response became fast enough to monitor nanosecond shock effects. Preliminary data are reported showing the intensity loss in a shocked microstructured medium, an artificial sand, consisting of dye-coated silica microspheres.
Find this article in full text from Scitation.