Picosecond surface acoustic waves using a suboptical wavelength absorption grating

We have demonstrated laser generation and detection of Rayleigh surface acoustic waves (SAW's) with acoustic wavelengths that are smaller than the optical wavelength of both the excitation and the detection beams. SAW generation was achieved using electron beam lithography to modulate the surface reflectivity and hence the lateral thermal gradients on a suboptical wavelength scale. The generation and detection characteristics of two material systems were investigated (aluminum absorption gratings on Si and GaAs substrates). The polarization sensitive absorption characteristics of the suboptical wavelength lithographic grating were exploited in order to explore various acoustic generation and detection schemes.