Studies of the dynamic process of an exploding silicon rod*

We are studying the dynamics of an exploding silicon rod. Silicon nanoparticles can be generated during the explosion so that the exploding silicon rod can be widely used in industry. In each experiment, a silicon rod with a 1 mm × 1 mm rectangular cross section is driven by a 1-kJ pulsed-power system. The peak current and the rise time of the pulsed current is ~100 kA and ~1.6 µs, respectively. Time-resolved shadowgraph, schlieren, and interference images are taken using a 532-nm Q-switch laser with a pulse width of ~5 ns. Images of the exploding process will be shown.