Imaging nanostructures with coherent phonon pulses

We demonstrate submicron resolution imaging using picosecond acoustic phonon pulses. High-frequency acoustic pulses are generated by impulsive thermoelastic excitation of a patterned 15-nm-thick metal film on a crystalline substrate using ultrafast optical pulses. The spatiotemporal diffracted acous...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2004-06, Vol.84 (25), p.5180-5182
Main Authors: Daly, B. C., Holme, N. C. R., Buma, T., Branciard, C., Norris, T. B., Tennant, D. M., Taylor, J. A., Bower, J. E., Pau, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We demonstrate submicron resolution imaging using picosecond acoustic phonon pulses. High-frequency acoustic pulses are generated by impulsive thermoelastic excitation of a patterned 15-nm-thick metal film on a crystalline substrate using ultrafast optical pulses. The spatiotemporal diffracted acoustic strain field is measured on the opposite side of the substrate, and this field is used in a time-reversal algorithm to reconstruct the object. The image resolution is characterized using lithographically defined 1-micron-period Al structures on Si. Straightforward technical improvements should lead to resolution approaching 45nm, extending the resolution of acoustic microscopy into the nanoscale regime.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.1764599