Mike Hettich

Lifetimes of Confined Acoustic Phonons in Ultrathin Silicon Membranes

We study the relaxation of coherent acoustic phonon modes with frequencies up to 500 GHz in ultrathin free-standing silicon membranes. Using an ultrafast pump-probe technique of asynchronous optical sampling, we observe that the decay time of the first-order dilatational mode decreases significantly from ~4.7 ns to 5 ps with decreasing membrane thickness from ~194 to 8 nm. The experimental results are compared with theories considering both intrinsic phonon-phonon interactions and extrinsic surface roughness scattering including a wavelength-dependent specularity. Our results provide insight to understand some of the limits of nanomechanical resonators and thermal transport in nanostructures.

Spatial-temporally resolved high-frequency surface acoustic waves on silicon investigated by femtosecond spectroscopy

Various types of surface acoustic waves are generated by femtosecond pulses on bulk silicon with aluminium stripe transducers. Rayleigh and leaky longitudinal surface acoustic wave modes are detected in the time domain for various propagation distances. The modes are identified by measuring on various pitches and comparing the spectra with finite element calculations. The lifetimes of the modes are determined quantitatively by spatially separating pump and probe beam, showing a significant difference in the lifetimes of both modes. We were able to excite and measure Rayleigh modes with frequencies of up to 90 GHz using a 100 nm period grating.

Modification of vibrational damping times in thin gold films by self-assembled molecular layers

The mechanical contact between a thin gold film and a silicon substrate is investigated by ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy providing quantitative values on the damping time of coherent longitudinal vibrations of the gold film. A distinct increase in damping times is observed when a self-assembled molecular layer is introduced between the gold film and the substrate. We deduce the frequency dependence of the damping times by varying the thickness of the gold films. Experimental results are compared to numerical simulations based on a visco-elastic model and the acoustic mismatch model.

Investigation of coherent acoustic phonons in terahertz quantum cascade laser structures using femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy

The dynamics of acoustic vibrations in terahertz quantum cascade laser structures (THz-QCLs) is studied by means of femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. The phonon modes are characterized by the folding of the acoustic dispersion into an effective reduced Brillouin zone. An accurate identification of this dispersion allows the sample structure and periodicity to be determined with high precision on the order of 0.1%. By temperature tuning the energy of the electronic levels of the system and performing wavelength dependent measurements, we are able to study the impulsive resonant generation and detection of coherent acoustic phonon modes. These results are supported by simulations of the electronic system that well explain the experimental observations. The effects of interface (IF) roughness on coherent acoustic phonon spectra are clearly observed for equal nominal THz-QCL structures but with different interface qualities.

Ultrafast spectroscopy of super high frequency mechanical modes of doubly clamped beams

We use ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy to study the mechanical vibrations in the time domain of doubly clamped silicon nitride beams. Beams with two different clamping conditions are investigated. Finite element method calculations are performed to analyse the mode spectra of both structures. By calculating the strain integral on the surface of the resonators, we are able to reproduce the effect of the detection mechanism and identify all the measured modes. We show that our spectroscopy technique combined with our modelling tools allow the investigation of several different modes in the super high frequency range (3-30 GHz) and above, bringing more information about the vibration modes of nanomechanical resonators.

Imaging of a patterned and buried molecular layer by coherent acoustic phonon spectroscopy

A molecular layer of aminopropyltriethoxysilane is patterned with a focused ion beam and subsequently covered by a gold film. The gold-polymer-substrate structures are afterwards imaged by ultrafast coherent acoustic phonon spectroscopy in reflection geometry. We demonstrate that the lateral structure of the covered polymer layer can be detected via the damping time of the vibrational mode of the gold film. Furthermore, we utilize Brillouin oscillations originating from the silicon substrate to map the structures and to estimate the molecular layer thickness.

Acoustic beam splitting at low GHz frequencies in a defect-free phononic crystal

The directional waveguiding in a 2D phononic crystal is simulated based on the analysis of equifrequency contours. This approach is utilized to investigate acoustic beam splitting in a defect-free nanostructure in the low GHz range. We find relaxed limitations regarding the source parameters compared to similar approaches in the sonic regime. Finally, we discuss the possibility to design an acoustic interferometer device at the nanoscale at GHz frequencies.

Viscoelastic properties and efficient acoustic damping in confined polymer nano-layers at GHz frequencies

We investigate the viscoelastic properties of confined molecular nano-layers by time resolved optical pump-probe measurements. Access to the elastic properties is provided by the damping time of acoustic eigenmodes of thin metal films deposited on the molecular nano-layers which show a strong dependence on the molecular layer thickness and on the acoustic eigen-mode frequencies. An analytical model including the viscoelastic properties of the molecular layer allows us to obtain the longitudinal sound velocity as well as the acoustic absorption coefficient of the layer. Our experiments and theoretical analysis indicate for the first time that the molecular nano-layers are much more viscous than elastic in the investigated frequency range from 50 to 120 GHz and thus show pronounced acoustic absorption. The longitudinal acoustic wavenumber has nearly equal real and imaginary parts, both increasing proportional to the square root of the frequency. Thus, both acoustic velocity and acoustic absorption are proportional to the square root of frequency and the propagation of compressional/dilatational acoustic waves in the investigated nano-layers is of the diffusional type, similar to the propagation of shear waves in viscous liquids and thermal waves in solids.

Time-resolved detection of propagating Lamb waves in thin silicon membranes with frequencies up to 197 GHz

Guided acoustic waves are generated in nanopatterned silicon membranes with aluminum gratings by optical excitation with a femtosecond laser. The spatial modulation of the photoacoustic excitation leads to Lamb waves with wavelengths determined by the grating period. The excited Lamb waves are optically detected for different grating periods and at distances up to several μm between pump and probe spot. The measured frequencies are compared to the theoretical dispersion relation for Lamb waves in thin silicon membranes. Compared to surface acoustic waves in bulk silicon twice higher frequencies for Lamb waves (197 GHz with a 100 nm grating) are generated in a membrane at equal grating periods.

Topological guiding of elastic waves in phononic metamaterials based on 2D pentamode structures

A topological state with protected propagation of elastic waves is achieved by appropriately engineering a phononic metamaterial based on 2D pentamode structures in silicon. Gapless edge states in the designed structure, which are characterized by pseudospin-dependent transport, provide backscattering-immune propagation of the elastic wave along bend paths. The role of the states responsible for forward and backward transfer can be interchanged by design.