Complete thin film mechanical characterization using picosecond ultrasonics and nanostructured transducers: experimental demonstration on SiO2

Abstract

Complete mechanical measurements are performed in submicron films using the picosecond ultrasonic technique. The Al layer deposited on the top of the sample acting as a transducer is replaced with a nanostructured Al film. Using an usual picosecond ultrasonic setup we can excite and detect high-frequency longitudinal and surface acoustic waves. From this we can deduce Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio of any isotropic thin film. Experimental results obtained for a thin silica layer on silicon are in very good agreement with literature.