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The laser ultrasound (LU) technique has been used to determine dispersion curves for surface acoustic waves (SAW) propagating in AlScN/Al2O3 systems. Polar and non-polar Al0.77Sc0.23N thin films were prepared by magnetron sputter epitaxy on Al2O3 substrates and coated with a metal layer. SAW dispersion curves have been measured for various propagation directions on the surface. This is easily achieved in LU measurements since no additional surface structures need to be fabricated, which would be required if elastic properties are determined with the help of SAW resonators. Variation of the propagation direction allows for efficient use of the system’s anisotropy when extracting information on elastic properties. This helps to overcome the complexity caused by a large number of elastic constants in the film material. An analysis of the sensitivity of the SAW phase velocities (with respect to the elastic moduli and their dependence on SAW propagation direction) reveals that the non-polar AlScN films are particularly well suited for the extraction of elastic film properties. Good agreement is found between experiment and theoretical predictions, validating LU as a non-destructive and fast technique for the determination of elastic constants of piezoelectric thin films.
Nonlinear acoustic waves are considered that have displacements localized at the tip of an elastic wedge. The evolution equation governing their propagation is discussed and compared with its analogues pertaining to nonlinear acoustic surface and bulk waves. Solitary wave solutions of the evolution equation have been determined numerically for the cases of two rectangular edges which may be viewed as generated by splitting a half-space, consisting of crystalline silicon, into two quarter-spaces. For these two geometries, the kernel in the nonlinear terms of the evolution equation has been calculated from the second-order and third-order elastic constants of silicon, and weak dispersion due to tip truncation has been considered. Solitary pulse shapes have been computed and collisions of solitary pulses have been simulated for various relative speeds of the two collision partners. Collision scenarios for the two wedge geometries were found to differ considerably. Special attention is paid to the peculiar interaction of two initially identical solitary pulses.