Diffraction of picosecond bulk longitudinal and shear waves in micron thick films

Investigation of thin metallic film properties by means of picosecond ultrasonics [C. Thomsen et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 53, 989 (1984)] has been under the scope of several studies. Generation of longitudinal and shear waves [T. Pézeril et al., Phys. Rev. B 73, 132301 (2006); O. Matsuda et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 095501 (2004)] with a wave vector normal to the film free surface has been demonstrated. Such measurements cannot provide complete information about properties of anisotropic films. Extreme focusing of a laser pump beam (≈0.5 μm) on the sample surface has recently allowed us to provide evidence of picosecond acoustic diffraction in thin metallic films (≈1 μm) [C. Rossignol et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 166106 (2005)]. The resulting longitudinal and shear wavefronts propagate at group velocity through the bulk of the film. To interpret the received signals, source directivity diagrams are calculated taking into account material anisotropy, optical penetration, and laser beam width on the sample surface. It is shown that acoustic diffraction increases with optical penetration, so competing with the increasing of directivity caused by beam width. Reflection with mode conversion at the film-substrate interface is discussed.     

Probing of laser-induced crack modulation by laser-monitored surface waves and surface skimming bulk waves

All-optical monitoring of the nonlinear motion of a surface-breaking crack is reported. Crack closing is induced by quasi-continuous laser heating, while Rayleigh surface acoustic pulses and bulk longitudinal surface skimming acoustic pulses are also generated and detected by lasers. By exploiting the strong dependence of the acoustic pulses reflection and transmission efficiency on the state-open or closed-of the contacts between the crack faces, the parametric modulation of ultrasonic pulses is achieved. It is observed that bulk acoustic waves skimming along the surface can be more sensitive to crack motion than Rayleigh surface waves.     

Spin-injection terahertz radiation in bilayer epitaxial magnetic planar nanostructures

The generation of electromagnetic THz waves by a current is experimentally investigated in planar structures comprised of two ferromagnetic films. When the films come into contact with a thin copper rod, the current is applied to both layers. The first layer, which plays the role of an injector, polarizes the spins of the current carriers. In the second working layer, the conditions are created for spin population inversion and the generation of THz waves. At a current of 350 mA, the radiation wavelength is 16.4 THz and a power of 10 mW is reached at room temperature.     

Laser hyperacoustic spectroscopy of single crystal germanium

Using a photothermal laser deflection technique the profiles of laser-induced hyperacoustic pulses in single crystal germanium were studied at a subnanosecond time resolution. It is shown that the hyperacoustic pulses are excited due to an electron-deformation interaction of photogenerated carriers with the crystal lattice, which is much more effective than the thermoelastic mechanism of the acoustic wave generation. Evolution of the hyperacoustic pulse profiles related to the diffraction and acoustic absorption effects was studied. An analysis of the hyperacoustic signal profiles allowed us to estimate the coefficient of ambipolar diffusion of the photogenerated charge carriers and the coefficient of hyperacoustic wave damping. It is established that the front of the electron-hole plasma laser-excited in germanium at room temperature propagates at a supersonic velocity.     

Equation of the Crack Front with Allowance for the Metric Properties of the Material

The geometric representation of the crack front propagation is examined in a Finsler space in the context of the discontinuity theory. The structure of the medium is taken into account via the connectivity coefficients of the Finsler space and its metric. It is demonstrated that this approach leads to the construction of fiber spaces and allows the gauge invariance to be introduced correctly and noncontradictorily into the fracture theory. The Lie derivative is used to proceed from discontinuities to differentials. The equation of the front crack surface is retrieved.     

Spin-injection terahertz radiation in magnetic junctions

Electromagnetic radiation of 1–10 THz range is observed at room temperature in a structure with a point contact between a ferromagnetic rod and a thin ferromagnetic film under electric current of high enough density. The radiation is due to nonequilibrium spin injection between the components of the structure. By estimates, the injection can lead to inverted population of the spin subbands. The radiation power exceeds by orders of magnitude the thermal background (with the Joule heating taken into account) and follows the current without inertia.     

Diffraction of picosecond bulk longitudinal and shear waves in micron thick films. Application to their nondestructive evaluation

In this paper, acute focusing of the laser pump beam ( approximately 0.5 microm) on the sample surface allows picosecond acoustic diffraction in thin metallic films. The resulting wavefronts propagate at a group velocity which differs from phase velocities in anisotropic films. Waveforms have been experimentally recorded in a gold layer (2.1 microm thick) for several distances between pump and probe on the sample surface. A specified signal processing based on a Synthetic Focalization Technique allows analyzing the space repartition of the acoustic wave vectors for both longitudinal and shear waves. Stiffness coefficients of the gold layer are then identified from wave arrival times.     

Generation of terahertz waves by a current in magnetic junctions

The terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum (approximately 0.3–30 THz) is still insufficiently mastered primarily because of the absence of compact and controllable emitters (oscillators) and receivers (detectors) reliably operating in this range in a wide temperature range, including room temperature. The corresponding recent studies in this field, which were supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, have been reviewed. New physical effects have been proposed and principles of the operation of terahertz devices based on these effects have been implemented. These effects refer to the physics of ferromagnetic and/or antiferromagnetic conducting layers assembled in micro- and nanostructures, which are called magnetic junctions. These effects are as follows: the formation of a quasiequilibrium distribution of current-injected electrons over the energy levels and the possibility of inverted population of levels, induction of the macroscopic magnetization by a spin-polarized current in an antiferromagnetic layer in the absence of external magnetic field, the appearance of current-induced contribution to antiferromagnetic resonance, and the experimental observation and study of the properties of terahertz radiation in ferromagnet-ferromagnet and ferromagnet-antiferromagnet junctions.