Abstract
Surface acoustic waves are elastic vibrations which propagate along the surface of the material. They are very sensitive to films and surface treatments, since the wave energy is concentrated near the surface. Therefore, there is a growing interest in using this acoustic wave mode for nondestructive testing. Whereas the wave velocity is constant for homogenous materials, the velocity c depends on frequency f for coated and surface-modified materials. This phenomenon, termed dispersion, can be used to determine important film parameters such as Young’s modulus, density, or film thickness. Especially, Young’s modulus is an interesting parameter for nondestructive characterization of film materials, since it depends on the bonding conditions and the microstructure. In order to determine the parameters of the film material, the dispersion curve c(f) is measured and fitted by a theoretical curve. Many experimental setups use pulse lasers to create surface acoustic waves. Short laser pulses can create wideband acoustic impulses. The laser is a non-contact acoustic source that can precisely be positioned on the material surface, which enables an accurate measurement of the dispersion. Five examples of application are presented which demonstrate that surface acoustic waves can be used for very different problems of surface characterization: diamond-like carbon films (ta-C) with thickness down to few nanometers, porous metal films of titanium with a thickness in the micrometer range, thermal-sprayed ceramic coatings with a thickness of some hundreds of micrometers, laser-hardened steels up to the depth of one millimeter, and subsurface damage in semiconductor materials.
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Reprinted from the Following Publications with Permission from Elsevier
Leonhardt M, Schneider D, Kaspar J, Schenk S (2004) Characterizing the porosity in thin titanium films by laser-acoustics. Surf Coat Technol 185:292–302. Elsevier Reuse License Number 4186960496489
Paehler D, Schneider D, Herben M (2007) Nondestructive characterization of sub-surface damage in rotational ground silicon wafers by laser acoustics. Microelectron Eng 84:340–354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mee.2006.11.001. Elsevier Reuse License Number 4187020428836
Schneider D, Schwarz T (1997) A photoacoustic method for characterizing thin films. Surf Coat Technol 91:136–146. Elsevier Reuse License Number 4160710855584
Schneider D, Schwarz T, Scheibe HJ, Panzner M (1997) Non-destructive evaluation of diamond and diamond-like carbon films by laser induced surface acoustic waves. Thin Solid Films 295:107–116. Elsevier Reuse License Number 4164621126820
Schneider D, Schultrich B, Scheibe HJ, Ziegele H, Griepentrog M (1998) A laser-acoustic method for testing and classifying hard surface layers. Thin Solid Films 332:157–163. Elsevier Reuse License Number 4187021304650
Schneider D, Siemroth P, Schuelke T, Berthold J, Schultrich B, Schneider HH, Ohr R, Petereit B, Hillgers H (2002) Quality control of ultra-thin and super-hard coatings by laser-acoustics. Surf Coat Technol 153:252–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0257-8972(01)01664-4. Elsevier Reuse License Number 4186911186263
Schneider D, Frühauf S, Schulz SE, Gessner T (2005) The current limits of the laser-acoustic test method to characterize low-k films. Microelectron Eng 82:393–398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mee.2005.07.073. Elsevier Reuse License Number 4186910426737
Schneider D, Hofmann R, Schwarz T, Grosser T, Hensel E (2012b) Evaluating surface hardened steels by laser-acoustics. Surf Coat Technol 206:2079–2088. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2011.09.017. Elsevier Reuse License Number 4187020878545
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Schneider, D. (2018). Laser-Induced Surface Acoustic Waves for Material Testing. In: Ida, N., Meyendorf, N. (eds) Handbook of Advanced Non-Destructive Evaluation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30050-4_38-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30050-4_38-2
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Laser-Induced Surface Acoustic Waves for Material Testing- Published:
- 04 September 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30050-4_38-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30050-4_38-1