Ultrahigh-pressure generation using light-ion beams

Using a simple analytical model, we examined the process of ultrahigh-pressure generation using ion-beam-driven flyers to impact on a stationary sample. The results suggested that pressures in excess of 5 Mbars can be attained in materials of medium densities even for a beam power density of 10¹¹ W/cm² that is readily available with existing machines. This, together with the mm-size diameter of the ion beam on target and the lack of a high-temperature plasma corona, renders light-ion beams potentially a most powerful tool for laboratory high-pressure research.