Dispersion of surface acoustic waves in thin films at extreme wavelength-to-thickness ratios.

Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are sensitive to the presence of a layer on the surface of a material, even if this layer is extremely thin compared to their wavelengths. Given the very slow propagation velocities of SAWs compared to electromagnetic waves, their wavelengths are on the order of 40 µm for acoustic frequencies on the order of 100 MHz. However, it has been shown that these waves are dispersive for coatings whose thicknesses are more than 1000 times smaller than their wavelength. This sensitivity is verified by studying the dispersion of SAWs for a frequency range between 90 and 260 MHz.

Electrical and Optical Characterization of SAW Sensors Coated with Parylene C and Their Analysis Using the Coupling-of-Modes (COM) Theory.

In this paper, we present how complementary characterization techniques, such as electrical measurements with a vector network analyzer (VNA), optical measurements with a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV), and numerical simulations with the finite element method, coupled with spectral domain analysis (FEMSDA), allow us to independently access different properties of a SAW device and fully characterize its operation using the coupling-of-modes theory (COM). A set of chemical SAW sensors coated with parylene C layers of different thicknesses (1, 1.5, and 2 µm) and an uncoated sensor were used as test samples. The sensors represent dual-channel electroacoustic delay lines operating in the vicinity of 77 MHz. The IDTs consist of split aluminum electrodes deposited on a AT-cut quartz substrate. The thickness-dependent influence of the parylene C layer was observed on the operating frequency (SAW velocity), static capacitance, attenuation, crosstalk, and reflection coefficient. COM parameters were reported for the four cases considered; measured and simulated data show good agreement. The presented approach is suitable for the design, characterization, and validation of polymer film-coated SAW sensors.

Development of a Broadband (100-240 MHz) Surface Acoustic Wave Emitter Devoted to the Non-Destructive Characterization of Sub-Micrometric Thin Films.

In the ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation of thin films, it is essential to have ultrasonic transducers that are able to generate surface acoustic waves (SAW) of suitably high frequencies in a wide frequency range of between ten and several hundred megahertz. If the characterization is carried out with the transducer in contact with the sample, it is also necessary that the transducers provide a high level of mechanical displacement (>100 s pm). This level allows the wave to cross the transducer−sample interface and propagate over the distance of a few millimeters on the sample and be properly detected. In this paper, an emitter transducer formed of interdigitated chirp electrodes deposited on 128° Y-cut LiNbO3 is proposed. It is shown that this solution efficiently enables the generation of SAW (displacement level up to 1 nm) in a frequency range of between 100 and 240 MHz. The electrical characterization and a displacement field analysis of SAW by laser Doppler vibrometry are presented. The transducer's significant unidirectionality is demonstrated. Finally, the characterization of two titanium thin films deposited on silicon is presented as an example. A meaningful SAW velocity dispersion (~10 m/s) is obtained, which allows for the precise estimation (5% of relative error) of the submicrometer thickness of the layers (20 and 50 nm).

Influence of the laser source position on the generation of Rayleigh modes in a layer-substrate structure with varying degrees of adhesion.

Non-Destructive Testing of adhesion using Surface Acoustic Waves (SAW) is an important issue in industrial and academic domains. Indeed, these waves are sensitive to the quality of adhesion at the interface between the substrate and the layer with a thickness comparable to the acoustic wavelength. Furthermore, their propagation distance allows a large majority of the sample to be tested quickly. Numerous studies have used SAW for the Non-Destructive Testing of adhesion. However, some recurrent experimental difficulties may lead to an incorrect interpretation of the results. This is the case when the layer thickness is non-uniform, for example. To provide a quasi-constant thickness, a PolyEthylene Terephthalate (PET) film was placed directly on the substrate surface without any glue and Laser-Ultrasonics was used to investigate this type of structure. As the film was transparent at the optical wavelength used, it was possible to focus the laser source on the substrate surface through the film. To the best of our knowledge, no paper has been published on the influence of the source position on adhesion testing. In this work, two source positions were investigated.

Non-destructive characterization of surfaces and thin coatings using a large-bandwidth interdigital transducer.

This paper deals with non-destructive testing of thin layer structures using Rayleigh-type waves over a broad frequency range (25-125 MHz). The dispersion phenomenon was used to characterize a layer-on-substrate-type sample comprising a thin layer of platinum 100 nm thick on a silicon substrate. The originality of this paper lies in the investigation of different ways of generating surface acoustic waves (SAWs) with large bandwidth interdigital transducers (IDTs) as well as the development of a measuring device to accurately estimate the SAW phase velocity. In particular, this study focuses on comparing the performance (in terms of SAW amplitude and bandwidth) of different excitations imposed on IDTs. The three types of excitations are burst, impulse, and chirp. The interest of chirp excitation compared to the other two types was clearly demonstrated in terms of the SAW bandwidth and amplitude of displacement. With these IDT transducers, measurements could be performed over a wide frequency band (20-125 MHz), and consequently, dispersion curves could be obtained over a wide frequency band with a range of velocity variations in the order of 100 m/s. Under these conditions, an extremely accurate estimate of the phase velocity as a function of the frequency could be obtained using a Slant Stack transformation. Finally, from these experimental dispersion curves and theoretical dispersion curves, an accurate estimate of the thickness of the layer could be obtained by inversion. This estimated thickness was then confirmed using profilometer measurements.

Effective and rapid technique for temporal response modeling of surface acoustic wave interdigital transducers.

Surface Acoustic Wave Interdigital Transducers (SAW-IDT) has a considerable application potential for characterization of properties of thin layers, coatings and functional surfaces. For optimization of these SAW-IDTs, it is necessary to study various SAW-IDT configurations by varying the number of electrodes, dimensions of the electrodes, their shapes and spacings. The finite element method (FEM) is generally used to model such transducers but results are obtained in several hours (or days). Thus it is necessary to implement effective and rapid technique for SAW-IDT modeling. In this study, we develop simulation tool based on Spatial Impulse Response model. Therefore, we reduce considerably computing time and results are obtained in a few seconds. In order to validate this method, theoretical and experimental results are compared with finite element method. The results obtained show a good concordance and confirm effectiveness of suggested method. In additional, this method requires less computer memory.

Generation of broadband surface acoustic waves using a dual temporal-spatial chirp method.

Wideband surface acoustic wave (SAW) generation with a spatial chirp-based interdigital transducer was optimized for non-destructive characterization and testing of coatings and thin layers. The use of impulse temporal excitation (Dirac-type negative pulse) leads to a wide band emitter excitation but with significantly limited SAW output amplitudes due to the piezoelectric crystal breakdown voltage. This limitation can be circumvented by applying a temporal chirp excitation corresponding in terms of frequency band and duration to the spatial chirp transducer configuration. This dual temporal-spatial chirp method was studied in the 20 to 125 MHz frequency range and allowed to obtain higher SAW displacement amplitudes with an excitation voltage lower than that of the impulse excitation.

Optimization of PZT ceramic IDT sensors for health monitoring of structures.

Surface acoustic waves (SAW) are particularly suited to effectively monitoring and characterizing structural surfaces (condition of the surface, coating, thin layer, micro-cracks…) as their energy is localized on the surface, within approximately one wavelength. Conventionally, in non-destructive testing, wedge sensors are used to the generation guided waves but they are especially suited to flat surfaces and sized for a given type material (angle of refraction). Additionally, these sensors are quite expensive so it is quite difficult to leave the sensors permanently on the structure for its health monitoring. Therefore we are considering in this study, another type of ultrasonic sensors, able to generate SAW. These sensors are interdigital sensors or IDT sensors for InterDigital Transducer. This paper focuses on optimization of IDT sensors for non-destructive structural testing by using PZT ceramics. The challenge was to optimize the dimensional parameters of the IDT sensors in order to efficiently generate surface waves. Acoustic tests then confirmed these parameters.

Surface acoustic wave characterization of optical sol-gel thin layers.

Controlling the thin film deposition and mechanical properties of materials is a major challenge in several fields of application. We are more particularly interested in the characterization of optical thin layers produced using sol-gel processes to reduce laser-induced damage. The mechanical properties of these coatings must be known to control and maintain optimal performance under various solicitations during their lifetime. It is therefore necessary to have means of characterization adapted to the scale and nature of the deposited materials. In this context, the dispersion of ultrasonic surface waves induced by a micrometric layer was studied on an amorphous substrate (fused silica) coated with a layer of ormosil using a sol-gel process. Our ormosil material is a silica-PDMS mixture with a variable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) content. The design and implementation of Surface Acoustic Wave InterDigital Transducers (SAW-IDT) have enabled quasi-monochromatic Rayleigh-type SAW to be generated and the dispersion phenomenon to be studied over a wide frequency range. Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of coatings were estimated using an inverse method.

Characterization of micrometric and superficial residual stresses using high frequency surface acoustic waves generated by interdigital transducers.

Controlling thin film deposition of materials and property gradients is a major challenge for the implementation of applications in microelectronics or glassmaking. It is essential to control the level of residual stress and thus important to have the right tools to characterize this stress in terms of scale and nature of the deposits. In this context, dispersion of ultrasound surface waves caused by the presence of a residual micrometric surface stress was studied in an amorphous medium for different superficial fields of residual stress. The design and implementation of SAW-IDT MEMS sensors enabled quasi-monochromatic Rayleigh-type surface waves to be generated and the dispersion phenomenon to be studied over a wide range of frequencies. The thicknesses of the stressed cortical zones as well as the level of stress were estimated with good accuracy using an inverse method.

Development of interdigital transducer sensors for non-destructive characterization of thin films using high frequency Rayleigh waves.

In this paper, Rayleigh waves were generated and studied over a broad frequency range (5-50 MHz) and from the dispersion phenomenon, two substrate on layer type-samples with thin layer thicknesses of 1 µm and 500 nm, respectively, were characterized. The originality in this paper is the use of surface acoustic wave interdigital transducers (IDT) to generate surface waves as well as the development of a measuring device enabling an accurate estimation of the phase velocity to be obtained, which is essential in order to characterize such thin layers. Considering the excitation frequencies (5-50 MHz) and therefore the widths necessary on the electrodes for these types of IDT sensors (20-200 µm), a lift-off procedure was chosen to deposit the electrodes on the lithium niobate (LiNbO(3)) piezoelectric substrates. The use of these IDT, first enabled problems of loss and attenuation linked to the high frequency of conventional sensors (wedge sensors) to be overcome and second to carry out quasi-monochromatic measurements in order to obtain an extremely accurate estimation of the phase velocity with rapid post-processing. An inverse method provided a very precise estimation of the thickness of the layers and the elastic constants of the substrate. The estimations of the thicknesses were then confirmed by measurements with a profilometer.

Coupled analysis of high and low frequency resonant ultrasound spectroscopy: application to the detection of defects in ceramic balls.

A coupled analysis of high and low frequency resonant ultrasound spectroscopy of spheroidal modes is presented in this paper. Experimentally, by using an ultrasonic probe for the excitation (piezoelectric transducer) and a heterodyne optic probe for the receiver (interferometer), it was possible to take spectroscopic measurements of spheroidal vibrations over a large frequency range of 100 kHz-45 MHz in a continuous regime. This wide analysis range enabled variations in velocity due to the presence of defects to be differentiated from the inherent characteristics of the balls and consequently, it offers the possibility of detecting cracks independently of production variations. This kind of defect is difficult to detect because the C-shaped surface crack is very small and narrow (500 x 5 microm(2)), and its depth does not exceed 50 microm. The proposed methodology can excite spheroidal vibrations in the ceramic balls and detect such vibrations over a large frequency range. On the one hand, low frequency resonances are used in order to estimate the elastic coefficients of the balls according to various inspection depths. This method has the advantage of providing highly accurate evaluations of the elastic coefficients over a wide frequency range. On the other hand, high frequency vibrations are considered because they are similar to the surface waves propagating in the surface zone of the ceramic balls and consequently can be used to detect C-crack defects.

Wide band resonant ultrasound spectroscopy of spheroidal modes for high accuracy estimation of Poisson coefficient of balls.

An original inversion method specifically adapted to the estimation of Poisson coefficient of balls by using their resonance spectra is described. From the study of their elastic vibrations, it is possible to accurately characterize the balls. The proposed methodology can create both spheroidal modes in the balls and detect such vibrations over a large frequency range. Experimentally, by using both an ultrasonic probe for the emission (piezoelectric transducer) and a heterodyne optic probe for the reception (interferometer), it was possible to take spectroscopic measurements of spheroidal vibrations over a large frequency range (100 kHz-45 MHz) in a continuous regime. This method, which uses ratios between wave resonance frequencies, allows the Poisson coefficient to be determined independently of Young's modulus and the ball's radius and density. This has the advantage of providing highly accurate estimations of Poisson coefficient (+/-4.3 x 10(-4)) over a wide frequency range.

Theoretical determination of Rayleigh wave acoustoelastic coefficients: comparison with experimental values.

The characterization of stress states in materials is often necessary in some industrial application. The ultrasonic methods can be potentially convenient since stress states inside materials can be obtained even if materials are opaque. Nevertheless, the knowledge of acousto-elastic coefficients is generally necessary to estimate residual stresses by ultrasonic methods, but the experimental determination of these acousto-elastic coefficients can be difficult in some cases. In this paper, Rayleigh wave (RW) acousto-elastic coefficients of an orthotropic material are theoretically determined according to its characteristics, i.e. the density and the secondand third-order elastic constants. Then, these RW acousto-elastic coefficients are directly measured during an experimental stage and a comparison between calculated and measured coefficients is realized. This study allows on the one hand to check the theoretical development and on the other hand to show that it is possible to calculate acousto-elastic coefficients theoretically from intrinsic characteristics of the material rather than measuring them directly during a calibration phase which is sometimes long and difficult to realize.