Nondestructive determination of film thickness with laser-induced surface acoustic waves

The application of surface acoustic waves(SAWs) for thickness measurement is presented. By studying the impact of film thickness h on the dispersion phenomenon of surface acoustic waves, a method for thickness determination based on theoretical dispersion curve v( fh) and experimental dispersion curve v( f) is developed. The method provides a series of thickness values at different frequencies f, and the mean value is considered as the final result of the measurement. The thicknesses of six interconnect films are determined by SAWs, and the results are compared with the manufacturer's data.The relative differences are in the range from 0.4% to 2.18%, which indicates that the surface acoustic wave technique is reliable and accurate in the nondestructive thickness determination for films. This method can be generally used for fast and direct determination of film thickness.     

Reflection and mode conversion of surface acoustic waves studied by scanning acoustic force microscopy

We present measurements of the reflection and mode conversion of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) by scanning acoustic force microscopy (SAFM). The SAFM offers a unique combination of high lateral resolution and high sensitivity towards acoustic modes of all polarizations. Since a SAW mixing experiment of two waves can be performed even if the amplitude difference between both waves is 40 dB, wavefields of extremely small amplitudes can be investigated. Using SAFM, the reflection of SAWs from a metallic wedge is investigated with submicron lateral resolution. We are able to identify two reflected wave modes, a Love and a non-coupling Rayleigh mode, by measuring their phase velocities. Received: 4 December 2000 / Accepted: 6 December 2000 / Published online: 9 February 2001     

Investigation of acoustic waves of higher order propagating in plates of lithium niobate

This paper presents theoretical investigation of higher order acoustic plate waves propagating in single crystals of lithium niobate. The dependencies of wave velocity and electromechanical coupling coefficient of antisymmetric, symmetric, and shear horizontal modes on the parameter hf (h=plate thickness, f=operating frequency) are calculated as a function of propagation direction on X-, Y-, and Z-cut lithium niobate plates. It is found that several modes can provide values of K2 that are much greater than can be obtained with surface acoustic waves (SAWs). For example, K2 as high as 0.26 and 0.38 can be obtained from SH1 and A2 modes, respectively. This compares with a maximum value of K2=0.055 for SAWs. It is further shown that there are several crystal cut and propagation directions that can allow efficient excitation and detection of a single mode with minimal interference due to other modes.     

Miniaturization of surface acoustic waves rotary motor

This paper presents the experimental study of a miniaturized surface acoustic waves (SAWs) rotary motor and the theoretical calculation. After the first success in SAW rotary motor operating at 9.85 MHz, a smaller rotary motor is designed. With the operating frequency of 30 MHz and the driving voltage of 120 V(p-p), the motor can rotate at a speed of 270 rpm.     

Characteristics of fundamental acoustic wave modes in thin piezoelectric plates

The characteristics of the three lowest order plate waves (A(0), S(0), and SH(0)) propagating in piezoelectric plates whose thickness h is much less than the acoustic wavelength lambda are theoretically analyzed. It is found that these waves can provide much higher values of electromechanical coupling coefficient K(2) and lower values of temperature coefficient of delay (TCD) than is possible with surface acoustic waves (SAWs). For example, in 30Y-X lithium niobate, the SH(0) mode has K(2)=0.46 and TCD=55 ppm/degrees C. The corresponding values for SAW in the widely used, strong coupling material of 128Y-X lithium niobate are K(2)=0.053 and TCD=75 ppm/degrees C. Another important advantage of plate waves is that, unlike the case of SAWs, they can operate satisfactorily in contact with a liquid medium, thus making possible their use in liquid phase sensors.     

Dispersion and Attenuation of Surface Acoustic Waves of Various Polarizations on a Stress-Free Randomly Rough Surface of Solid

An approach to obtaining the dispersion equation of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) on a stress-free, randomly rough surface of an anisotropic elastic medium is suggested. The problem is solved in the approximation of a weakly rough surface using Green′s function technique. The dispersion and attenuation of sagittally and shear horizontally (SH) polarized SAWs are investigated both analytically and numerically for a three-dimensionally (3D) and a two-dimensionally (2D) rough surface of an isotropic medium. The results for 2D roughness are shown to be contained in the more general expressions for the 3D case, and the connection between the results for the 3D and the 2D cases is pointed out. Dispersion relations are derived for SAWs of both polarizations propagating in an arbitrary direction along a 2D rough surface. The SAW attenuation mechanisms are investigated at various incidence angles. It is concluded that all three mechanisms (viz. scattering into bulk transverse, longitudinal, and Rayleigh surface acoustic waves) are involved for the Rayleigh and SH polarized SAWs at certain incidence angles, whereas at the other angles only some of the mechanisms are. The criterion for the existence of SH polarized SAWs on a rough surface is considered. A possible increase of the SAW phase velocity on a rough surface compared with that for a flat boundary is discussed. In the limit λ a (where a is the roughness correlation length) simple explicit expressions for the phase velocities of Rayleigh and SH polarized SAWs are derived. A comparison of the results obtained herein with those of other workers is presented.     

Effects of the piezoelectric field on the modulation of exciton–polaritons by surface acoustic waves

Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) provide a powerful tool for the modulation of polaritons in GaAs-based microcavities. In this contribution, we compare the modulation introduced by SAWs propagating along piezoelectric and non-piezoelectric crystal directions of the sample surface. Strain calculations reveal that the type-I band-gap modulation induced by the strain field is comparable for both SAW types. Piezoelectric SAWs have, however, an intrinsic longitudinal electric field, which can dissociate quantum well (QW) excitons and, thus, degrade the modulation. Images of the polariton far-field photoluminescence reveal this behavior for different excitation conditions.     

Acoustic study of adsorbed liquid layers

Interference measurements of small variations in the velocity and attenuation of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are used to investigate water layers up to 15 nm thick adsorbed on the surface of a lithium niobate crystal. The frequency dependence of the relative variation of the SAW velocity with the adsorption of water vapor is measured in the range from 40 to 400 MHz. Acoustic techniques are used to experimentally estimate the frequency dependence of the dielectric constant of adsorbed water and its dipole relaxation frequency along with the dependence of the adsorption layer thickness on the water vapor pressure in the surrounding medium. A simple expression is proposed for calculating the dispersion of the SAW velocity in a solid loaded with a thin liquid layer.     

Transmission of surface acoustic waves through the interface based on discontinuity of electrical boundary conditions on surface of potassium niobate

This paper presents theoretical investigation of the propagation of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) across the boundary between metallized (electrically shorted) and unmetallized (electrically open) regions on the surface of potassium niobate crystals. Potassium niobate is a very strong piezoelectric material and has the interesting property that only one type of SAW, namely a Rayleigh wave, can exist on unmetallized surface, where as two types of SAWs, namely Rayleigh and Bleustein-Gulyaev (BG), can exist on a metallized surface. Analysis shows that the Rayleigh wave propagates through the interface with very little change in amplitude or polarization. On the other hand, almost total reflection of the BG wave is expected. Details of the theoretical analysis and calculated results will be presented.     

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.     

Measurement of material nonlinearity using surface acoustic wave parametric interaction and laser ultrasonics

A dual frequency mixing technique has been developed for measuring velocity changes caused by material nonlinearity. The technique is based on the parametric interaction between two surface acoustic waves (SAWs): The low frequency pump SAW generated by a transducer and the high frequency probe SAW generated and detected using laser ultrasonics. The pump SAW stresses the material under the probe SAW. The stress (typically <5 MPa) is controlled by varying the timing between the pump and probe waves. The nonlinear interaction is measured as a phase modulation of the probe SAW and equated to a velocity change. The velocity-stress relationship is used as a measure of material nonlinearity. Experiments were conducted to observe the pump-probe interaction by changing the pump frequency and compare the nonlinear response of aluminum and fused silica. Experiments showed these two materials had opposite nonlinear responses, consistent with previously published data. The technique could be applied to life-time predictions of engineered components by measuring changes in nonlinear response caused by fatigue.     

The experimental study of fatigue crack detection using scanning laser point source technique

For the purpose of better understanding the interaction of Rayleigh wave and the fatigue crack in a metallic sample, a set of experimental setups is built, based on the scanning laser source (SLS) technique, utilizing a point source to take place of the line source to generate surface acoustic waves (SAWs), and an interferometer is to detect the SAWs signal. The information of the crack (such as position and length) can be obtained by utilizing a two-dimensional scan of the material surface. This paper focuses on the detection of visible and invisible fatigue crack by using this point-source-based scanning laser source technique, and comparing the results with those of conventional pitch-catch technique. The result shows that with two-dimensional scanning, and analyzing the amplitude of the generated SAWs, not only the visible fatigue can be identified, but also the invisible fatigue crack can be discriminated. As a result, the sensitivity of the scanning point laser source technique is higher than the conventional pitch-catch technique.     

Investigation of surface acoustic waves in laser shock peened metals

Laser shock peening is a well-known method for extending the fatigue life of metal components by introducing near-surface compressive residual stress. The surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are dispersive when the near-surface properties of materials are changed. So the near-surface properties (such as the thickness of hardened layers, elastic properties, residual stresses, etc.) can be analyzed by the phase velocity dispersion. To study the propagation of SAWs in metal samples after peening, a more reasonable experimental method of broadband excitation and reception is introduced. The ultrasonic signals are excited by laser and received by polyvinylindene fluoride (PVDF) transducer. The SAW signals in aluminum alloy materials with different impact times by laser shock peening are detected. Signal spectrum and phase velocity dispersion curves of SAWs are analyzed. Moreover, reasons for dispersion are discussed.     

Acoustically induced spin-orbit interactions revealed by two-dimensional imaging of spin transport in GaAs

Magneto-optic Kerr microscopy was employed to investigate the spin-orbit interactions of electrons traveling in semiconductor quantum wells using surface acoustic waves (SAWs). Two-dimensional images of the spin flow induced by SAWs exhibit anisotropic spin precession behaviors caused by the coexistence of different types of spin-orbit interactions. The dependence of spin-orbit effective magnetic fields on SAW intensity indicates the existence of acoustically controllable spin-orbit interactions resulting from the strain and Rashba contributions induced by the SAWs.     

One dimensional confinement of microcavity polaritons using non-piezoelectric surface acoustic waves

We demonstrate the manipulation of microcavity polaritons using tunable one-dimensional potentials formed by non-piezoelectric surface acoustic waves (SAWs). We compare the modulation of polaritons by piezoelectric and non-piezoelectric SAWs and show that the latter outperform the former for high acoustic powers. We directly show the formation of mini-Brillouin zones due to the lateral modulation with the periodicity of the SAW as well as the flattening of the lowest dispersion curve due to polariton confinement, showing the formation of polariton wires.     

Numerical simulation of laser-generated surface acoustic waves in the transparent coating on a substrate by the finite element method

The optimum finite element model in the system consisting of a transparent coating and an opaque substrate is established based on the analysis of two important parameters: meshing size and time step, and the stability of solution. Taking into account the temperature dependence of material properties, the transient temperature and temperature gradient field are obtained. According to the thermoelastic theory, this temperature gradient field can be taken as a buried bulk source to generate ultrasonic wave. The surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are obtained. The influence of the coating thickness on the SAWs is analyzed. The model provides a useful tool for the determination of modes which are generated by a laser source in transparent coating on opaque substrate. The surface skimming longitudinal wave exists for the multiple oscillations and it charges from unipolar waveforms to dipolar.     

Multi-channel surface acoustic wave device and its application on all-fiber acousto-optic modulation

The interaction of multi-channel surface acoustic waves （SAWs） and a guided optical wave in fiber is studied, and the corresponding coupled wave equations are derived. A novel two-channel SAW all-fiber acousto-optic modulator is designed, fabricated, and tested. The theoretical analysis is supported by the experimental results.     

Stern-Gerlach spin filter using surface acoustic waves

We propose the ambipolar carrier transport by surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in a semiconductor quantum well (QW) for the realization of the Stern-Gerlach (SG) experiment in the solid phase. The well-defined and very low carrier velocity in the moving SAW field leads to a large deflection angle and thus to efficient spin separation, even for the weak field gradients and short (μm-long) interaction lengths that can be produced by micromagnets. The feasibility of a SG spin filter is discussed for different QW materials.     

The temperature coefficients of delay of surface acoustic waves in LGS and LGN crystals in a wide temperature range

Numerical analysis of the first-and second-order temperature coefficients of the delay of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in LGS and LGN crystals was carried out. The calculations were performed along thermostable directions in a wide temperature range. The effect of an aluminium layer having a finite thickness on the SAW temperature characteristics is shown.     

Numerical study on surface acoustic wave method for determining Young's modulus of low-k films involved in multi-layered structures

The surface acoustic waves (SAWs) technique is becoming an attractive tool for accurately and nondestructively characterizing the mechanical property of the brittle low dielectric constant (low-k) thin film. The theoretical equations for describing SAWs propagating on the multi-layered structure are derived in this study. The dispersion features of SAWs propagating on different structures of low-k/SiO₂/Si substrate, SiO₂/low-k/Si substrate, low-k/Si substrate, and low-k/Cu/Si substrate are investigated to instruct an accurate and facile fitting process for determining Young's modulus of low-k films. The dependence of dispersion relation on the film thickness, elastic modulus of low-k materials as well as frequency are provided and discussed in detail. The study shows an obvious influence of layered structure on the dispersion relation of SAWs. For a fixed structure, the dispersion curvature increases with the decrease of Young's modulus of low-k films.