Quantitative Ultrafast Magnetoacoustics at Magnetic Metasurfaces.

Femtosecond (fs) time-resolved magneto-optics is applied to investigate laser-excited ultrafast dynamics of one-dimensional nickel gratings on fused silica and silicon substrates for a wide range of periodicities Λ = 400-1500 nm. Multiple surface acoustic modes with frequencies up to a few tens of GHz are generated. Nanoscale acoustic wavelengths Λ/n have been identified as nth-spatial harmonics of Rayleigh surface acoustic wave (SAW) and surface skimming longitudinal wave (SSLW), with acoustic frequencies and lifetimes being in agreement with theoretical calculations. Resonant magnetoelastic excitation of the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) by SAW's third spatial harmonic, and, most interestingly fingerprints of the parametric resonance at 1/2 SAW frequency have been observed. Numerical solutions of Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation magnetoelastically driven by complex polychromatic acoustic fields quantitatively reproduce all resonances at once. Thus, our results provide a solid experimental and theoretical base for a quantitative understanding of ultrafast fs-laser-driven magnetoacoustics and tailoring the magnetic-grating-based metasurfaces at the nanoscale.

Measurement of temperature dependent shear modulus using frequency dependent SAWs ToF delay in laser-induced temperature gradient.

Phase velocity of surface acoustic waves(SAWs) is frequency dependent when propagate on medium with inhomogeneous elasticity over depth. In this work, frequency dependent Time-of-Flight (ToF) variation of SAWs induced by a local and dynamic heating was applied for measurement of temperature dependent shear modulus. Laser-generated broad-band SAWs propagated through the material with elastic properties and density modified by dynamic inhomogeneous temperature field induced by a millisecond laser heating. Sample with spatial dependent material properties introduces phase velocity dispersion in the SAW propagation. As consequence, ToF of SAW becomes frequency dependent. Frequency dependent ToF variation curves at two time instants respected to laser heating were measured by time-frequency analysis together with a differential technique. Free fitted parameters, temperature dependent shear modulus and surface temperature distribution were evaluated by solving the inverse problem by fitting the experimental ToF variation curves into the theoretical ones by means of the differential evolution method. The inversed temperature dependent parameter of shear modulus of Ti-6Al-4V alloy was in good agreement with literature value.

Laser Ultrasound Investigations of AlScN(0001) and AlScN(11-20) Thin Films Prepared by Magnetron Sputter Epitaxy on Sapphire Substrates.

The laser ultrasound (LU) technique has been used to determine dispersion curves for surface acoustic waves (SAW) propagating in AlScN/Al2O3 systems. Polar and non-polar Al0.77Sc0.23N thin films were prepared by magnetron sputter epitaxy on Al2O3 substrates and coated with a metal layer. SAW dispersion curves have been measured for various propagation directions on the surface. This is easily achieved in LU measurements since no additional surface structures need to be fabricated, which would be required if elastic properties are determined with the help of SAW resonators. Variation of the propagation direction allows for efficient use of the system's anisotropy when extracting information on elastic properties. This helps to overcome the complexity caused by a large number of elastic constants in the film material. An analysis of the sensitivity of the SAW phase velocities (with respect to the elastic moduli and their dependence on SAW propagation direction) reveals that the non-polar AlScN films are particularly well suited for the extraction of elastic film properties. Good agreement is found between experiment and theoretical predictions, validating LU as a non-destructive and fast technique for the determination of elastic constants of piezoelectric thin films.

Generation of negative group velocity Lamb waves by a moving laser source.

Analytical existence conditions for negative group velocity (NGV) of an arbitrary mode Lamb waves in elastic plate was obtained. Experimentally, NGV waves were excited by means of a thermoelastic laser source moving across the sample plate with a controllable velocity. Such source is coupled with modes which phase velocity component parallel to the surface coincides with the source speed. Additional mode selection was performed by choosing a quasiperiodic shape of the laser spot, which specifies the range of the wavenumber k. This technique was successfully applied for generation of backward (NGV) waves. By tuning the speed of the source the propagation direction was switched from forward to reversal.

Selective generation of Lamb modes by a moving continuous-wave laser.

This Letter focuses on the selectively non-contact generation of Lamb wave modes in plates by using a continuous-wave (CW) laser moving along sample surface. Compared with the generated Lamb waves with broadband, multiple modes (the existence of at least two modes at any given frequency) excited by a pulsed laser, the desired single narrowband mode of the Lamb wave can be generated by a moving CW laser, as long as the scanning speed matches the phase velocity of the mode. Moreover, the dispersion curves of the Lamb wave can be obtained directly from the power spectrum of the time-domain signal recorded at each laser's moving speed. Single A0 mode excitation, coupled resonance phenomenon of A0 mode and S0 mode, single S0 mode excitation, and high-order modes appeared successively as scanning speed increased. Especially, the excitation of the pure single S0 mode can be realized, which is suitable for propagation in the case of liquid loading. It is proposed, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, to realize the selection of a single Lamb wave mode by using the CW laser scanning method, which provides a brand-new way for laser ultrasonic excitation.

Self-action of propagating and standing Lamb waves in the plates exhibiting hysteretic nonlinearity: Nonlinear zero-group velocity modes.

An analytical theory accounting for the influence of hysteretic nonlinearity of micro-inhomogeneous plate material on the Lamb waves near the S1 zero group velocity point is developed. The theory predicts that the main effect of the hysteretic quadratic nonlinearity consists in the modification of the frequency and the induced absorption of the Lamb modes. The effects of the nonlinear self-action in the propagating and standing Lamb waves are expected to be, respectively, nearly twice and three times stronger than those in the plane propagating acoustic waves. The theory is restricted to the simplest hysteretic nonlinearity, which is influencing only one of the Lamé moduli of the materials. However, possible extensions of the theory to the cases of more general hysteretic nonlinearities are discussed as well as the perspectives of its experimental testing. Applications include nondestructive evaluation of micro-inhomogeneous and cracked plates.

On the existence of guided acoustic waves at rectangular anisotropic edges.

The existence of acoustic waves with displacements localized at the tip of an isotropic elastic wedge was rigorously proven by Kamotskii, Zavorokhin and Nazarov. This proof, which is based on a variational approach, is extended to rectangular anisotropic wedges. For two high-symmetry configurations of rectangular edges in elastic media with tetragonal symmetry, a criterion is derived that allows identifying the boundary between the regions of existence for wedge modes of even and odd symmetry in regions of parameter space, where even- and odd-symmetry modes do not exist simultaneously. Furthermore, rectangular edges with non-equivalent surfaces are analyzed, and it is shown that at rectangular edges of cubic elastic media with one (110) surface and one (001) surface, a tip-localized guided wave always exists, apart from special cases that are characterized.

Laser-generated ultrasonic pulse shapes at solid wedges.

Laser pulses focused near the tip of an elastic wedge generate acoustic waves guided at its apex. The shapes of the acoustic wedge wave pulses depend on the energy and the profile of the exciting laser pulse and on the anisotropy of the elastic medium the wedge is made of. Expressions for the acoustic pulse shapes have been derived in terms of the modal displacement fields of wedge waves for laser excitation in the thermo-elastic regime and for excitation via a pressure pulse exerted on the surface. The physical quantity considered is the local inclination of a surface of the wedge, which is measured optically by laser-probe-beam deflection. Experimental results on pulse shapes in the thermo-elastic regime are presented and confirmed by numerical calculations. They pertain to an isotropic sharp-angle wedge with two wedge-wave branches and to a non-reciprocity phenomenon at rectangular silicon edges.

Orbital-type trapping of elastic Lamb waves.

The interaction of laser-generated Lamb waves propagating in a plate with a sharp-angle conical hole was studied experimentally and numerically. Part of the energy of the incident wave is trapped within the conic area in two ways: the antisymmetric Lamb wave orbiting the center of the hole and the wave localized at the acute edge. Parameters and conditions for optimal conversion of the incident wave into the trapped modes were studied in this work. Experiments were performed using the laser stroboscopic shearography technique, which delivers the time evolution of the acoustic field in the whole area of interest. The effect of trapping can be used for efficient damping, similar to the one-dimensional acoustical black hole effect.

Accurate characterization of SiO2 thin films using surface acoustic waves.

We have investigated the acoustic properties of silicon dioxide thin films. Therefore, we determined the phase velocity dispersion of LiNbO3 substrate covered with SiO2 deposited by a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition and a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process using differential delay lines and laser ultrasonic method. The density p and the elastic constants (c11 and c44) can be extracted by fitting corresponding finite element simulations to the phase velocities within an accuracy of at least +4%. Additionally, we propose two methods to improve the accuracy of the phase velocity determination by dealing with film thickness variation of the PVD process.

Laser-based linear and nonlinear guided elastic waves at surfaces (2D) and wedges (1D).

The characteristic features and applications of linear and nonlinear guided elastic waves propagating along surfaces (2D) and wedges (1D) are discussed. Laser-based excitation, detection, or contact-free analysis of these guided waves with pump-probe methods are reviewed. Determination of material parameters by broadband surface acoustic waves (SAWs) and other applications in nondestructive evaluation (NDE) are considered. The realization of nonlinear SAWs in the form of solitary waves and as shock waves, used for the determination of the fracture strength, is described. The unique properties of dispersion-free wedge waves (WWs) propagating along homogeneous wedges and of dispersive wedge waves observed in the presence of wedge modifications such as tip truncation or coatings are outlined. Theoretical and experimental results on nonlinear wedge waves in isotropic and anisotropic solids are presented.

Evaluation of third-order elastic constants using laser-generated multi-type ultrasound for isotropic materials.

Within the linear elasticity approximation the speed of a small-amplitude sound in conventional linear elasticity is determined only by the second order elastic (SOE) constants and the density of the medium. Subjecting the conveying solid to a static strain of a sufficient magnitude introduces the third-order elastic (TOE) constants in the equation of the sound speed. In this work we applied a homogeneous isotropic deformation caused by a thermal expansion of an aluminum alloy sample. Velocities of three acoustic modes: longitudinal, shear and Rayleigh waves were measured as functions of temperature within a range of 25-100 °C. Two TOE constants C111 and C112 were evaluated in an assumption that the third independent module C144 is far smaller than the former two.

Fragmentation of DNA in a sub-microliter microfluidic sonication device.

Fragmentation of DNA is an essential step for many biological applications including the preparation of next-generation sequencing (NGS) libraries. As sequencing technologies push the limits towards single cell and single molecule resolution, it is of great interest to reduce the scale of this upstream fragmentation step. Here we describe a miniaturized DNA shearing device capable of processing sub-microliter samples based on acoustic shearing within a microfluidic chip. A strong acoustic field was generated by a Langevin-type piezo transducer and coupled into the microfluidic channel via the flexural lamb wave mode. Purified genomic DNA, as well as covalently cross-linked chromatin were sheared into various fragment sizes ranging from ∼180 bp to 4 kb. With the use of standard PDMS soft lithography, our approach should facilitate the integration of additional microfluidic modules and ultimately allow miniaturized NGS workflows.

Nanoscale noncontact subsurface investigations of mechanical and optical properties of nanoporous low-k material thin film.

Revealing defects and inhomogeneities of physical and chemical properties beneath a surface or an interface with in-depth nanometric resolution plays a pivotal role for a high degree of reliability in nanomanufacturing processes and in materials science more generally. (1, 2) Nanoscale noncontact depth profiling of mechanical and optical properties of transparent sub-micrometric low-k material film exhibiting inhomogeneities is here achieved by picosecond acoustics interferometry. On the basis of the optical detection through the time-resolved Brillouin scattering of the propagation of a picosecond acoustic pulse, depth profiles of acoustical velocity and optical refractive index are measured simultaneously with spatial resolution of tens of nanometers. Furthermore, measuring the magnitude of this Brillouin signal provides an original method for depth profiling of photoelastic moduli. This development of a new opto-acoustical nanometrology paves the way for in-depth inspection and for subsurface nanoscale imaging of inorganic- and organic-based materials.

Solitary surface acoustic waves and bulk solitons in nanosecond and picosecond laser ultrasonics.

Recent achievements of nonlinear acoustics concerning the realization of solitons and solitary waves in crystals and their surfaces attained by nanosecond and picosecond laser ultrasonics are discussed and compared. The corresponding pump-probe setups are described, which allow an all-optical contact-free excitation and detection of short strain pulses in the broad frequency range between 10 MHz and about 300 GHz. The formation of solitons in the propagating longitudinal strain pulses is investigated for nonlinear media with intrinsic lattice-based dispersion. The excitation of solitary surface acoustic waves is realized by a geometric film-based dispersion effect. Future developments and potential applications of nonlinear nanosecond and picosecond ultrasonics are discussed.

Nonlinear surface acoustic waves: realization of solitary pulses and fracture.

A laser-based technique for the contact-free generation and detection of strongly nonlinear surface acoustic wave (SAW) pulses with amplitudes limited by the materials strength has been developed. The effects of nonlinear propagation of short elastic surface pulses with finite strength in isotropic solids, such as fused quartz, anisotropic solids, such as silicon, and dispersive media were investigated. Solitary surface wave propagation was observed in layered structures for normal and anomalous dispersion. In addition, a SAW-based method for evaluating the critical fracture stress of anisotropic brittle solids, such as single crystal silicon, is introduced.