Understanding the behavior of matter at extreme pressures of the order of a megabar (Mbar) is essential to gain insight into various physical phenomena at macroscales—the formation of planets, young stars, and the cores of super-Earths, and at microscales—damage to ceramic materials and high-pressure plastic transformation and phase transitions in solids. Under dynamic compression of solids up to Mbar pressures, even a solid with high strength exhibits plastic properties, causing the induced shock wave to split in two: an elastic precursor and a plastic shock wave. This phenomenon is described by theoretical models based on indirect measurements of material response. The advent of x-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) has made it possible to use their ultrashort pulses for direct observations of the propagation of shock waves in solid materials by the method of phase-contrast radiography. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive data for verification of theoretical models of different solids. Here, we present the results of an experiment in which the evolution of the coupled elastic–plastic wave structure in diamond was directly observed and studied with submicrometer spatial resolution, using the unique capabilities of the x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL). The direct measurements allowed, for the first time, the fitting and validation of the 2D failure model for diamond in the range of several Mbar. Our experimental approach opens new possibilities for the direct verification and construction of equations of state of matter in the ultra-high-stress range, which are relevant to solving a variety of problems in high-energy-density physics.

Halide perovskite light-emitting electrochemical cells are a novel type of the perovskite optoelectronic devices that differs from the perovskite light-emitting diodes by a simple monolayered architecture. Here, we develop a perovskite electrochemical cell both for light emission and detection, where the active layer consists of a composite material made of halide perovskite microcrystals, polymer support matrix, and added mobile ions. The perovskite electrochemical cell of CsPbBr₃:PEO:LiTFSI composition, emitting light at the wavelength of 523 nm, yields the luminance more than 7000 cd/m² and electroluminescence efficiency of 1.3×10⁵ lm/W. The device fabricated on a silicon substrate with transparent single-walled carbon nanotube film as a top contact exhibits 40% lower Joule heating compared to the perovskite optoelectronic devices fabricated on conventional ITO/glass substrates. Moreover, the device operates as a photodetector with a sensitivity up to 0.75 A/W, specific detectivity of 8.56×10¹¹ Jones, and linear dynamic range of 48 dB. The technological potential of such a device is proven by demonstration of 24-pixel indicator display as well as by successful device miniaturization by creation of electroluminescent images with the smallest features less than 50 μm.

The design of ellipsoidal plasma mirrors (EPMs) for the PEARL laser facility is presented. The EPMs achieve a magnification of 0.32 in focal spot size, and the corresponding increase in focused intensity is expected to be about 8. Designing and implementing such focusing optics for short-pulse (<100 fs) systems paves the way for their use in future high-power facilities, where they can be used to achieve intensities beyond 10²³ W/cm². A retro-imaging-based target alignment system is also described, which is used to align solid targets at the output of the ellispoidal mirrors (with a numerical aperture of 0.75 in this case).