Narrow band laser-generated surface acoustic waves using a formed source in the ablative regime

A narrow band laser-generated acoustic signal was created using a 4-element lenticular array. This arrangement of the array produces an acoustical signal with frequency content that is compatible with the response of a noncontact and remote broadband receiver, such as a capacitive air-coupled transducer. To support the experimental observations, a simplified concept is presented to explain the effect of a line array source on the frequency content of a surface acoustic wave. The analytical model solution for the wave front shape is derived from the point load solution of Lamb's problem that represents the displacement of a surface acoustic wave generated by an ablative line array. The distribution function, which was used for the model to represent the laser light energy, was tailored to depict the actual energy distribution that illuminates the lenticular array. Filtering functions are applied to the resultant surface displacement function to retain frequencies similar to those detected by the broadband 50 kHz-2.25 MHz receiver. The theoretical model showed good agreement with experimental results.