Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Surface Brillouin Scattering

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Advanced Non-Destructive Evaluation

Abstract

This chapter provides a broad introductory overview of surface Brillouin scattering, a noncontact optical technique for probing the surface dynamics of solids, and thereby obtaining information about their near-surface mechanical properties. It is of particular use in studying solids whose surfaces are modified in some way, such as by the presence of a thin surface coating or the effects of radiation damage. The setup used for doing the measurements and the equipment requirements are described. The sought-after information on the surface properties is extracted from the small fraction of the incident light which undergoes a frequency shift on being scattered. Multipass Fabry-Pérot interferometry is used to resolve this component. The mechanisms for the light scattering are explained and the methods used for data analysis and recovery of elastic constants from the measured data are set out. Finally, a number of applications of technological importance are reviewed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Auld BA (1990) Acoustic fields and waves in solids. Robert E. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar

    Google Scholar 

  • Beghi MG, Every AG, Prakapenka V, Zinin PV (2012) Chap. 10, Measurement of the elastic properties of solids by Brillouin spectroscopy. In: Kundu T (ed) Ultrasonic and electromagnetic NDE for structure and material characterization. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 539–610. ISBN: 978-1-4398-3663-7

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell JA, Zanoni R, Seaton CT, Stegeman GI, Macous J, Falco CM (1988) Elastic constants of, and Stoneley waves in, molybdenum films measured by Brillouin scattering. Appl Phys Lett 52:610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berezina S, Zinin PV, Schneider D, Fei D, Rebinsky DA (2004) Combining Brillouin spectroscopy and laser-SAW technique for elastic property characterization of thick DLC films. Ultrasonics 43:87–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comins JD (2001) Surface Brillouin scattering. In: Levy M, Bass H, Stern R (eds) Handbook of elastic properties of solids, liquids, and gases, vol 1. Academic, New York, pp 349–378

    Google Scholar 

  • De Bernabe A, Prieto C, Caceres D, Vergara I, Every AG, Fischer HE (2001) Anomalous elastic properties of Si/Ge superlattices: the role of interfaces. Phys Status Solidi (a) 188:1023–1040

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dil JG (1982) Brillouin scattering in condensed matter. Rep Prog Phys 45:285–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Every AG, Kotane LM, Comins JD (2010) Characteristic wave speeds in the surface Brillouin scattering measurement of elastic constants of crystals. Phys Rev B 81:224303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Every AG, Sumanya C, Mathe BA, Zhang X, Comins JD (2016) Optimized determination of elastic constants of crystals and their uncertainties from surface Brillouin scattering. Ultrasonics 69:273–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farnell GW (1970) Properties of elastic surface waves. In: Mason WP, Thurston RN (eds) Physical acoustics, vol 6. Academic, New York, pp 109–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Farnell GW, Adler EL (1972) Elastic wave propagation in thin layers. In: Mason WP, Thurston RN (eds) Physical acoustics, vol 9. Academic, New York, pp 35–127

    Google Scholar 

  • Faurie D, Girodon-Boulandet N, Kaladjian A, Challali F, Abadias G, Djemia P (2017) Setup for high-temperature surface Brillouin light scattering: application to opaque thin films and coatings. Rev Sci Instrum 88:023903

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrari AC, Robertson J, Beghi MG, Bottani CE, Ferulano R, Pastorelli R (1999) Elastic constants of tetrahedral amorphous carbon films by Brillouin scattering. Appl Phys Lett 75:1893–1895

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fung YC (1965) Foundations of solid mechanics. Prentice Hall, Eaglewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

  • Graczykowski B, Sledzinska M, Kehagias N, Alzina F, Reparaz JS, Sotomayor Torres CM (2014) Hypersonic phonon propagation in one-dimensional surface phononic crystal. Appl Phys Lett 104:123108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grimsditch M, Nizzoli F (1986) Effective elastic constants of superlattices of any symmetry. Phys Rev B33:5891–5892

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillebrands B (1999) Progress in multipass tandem Fabry-Pérot interferometry: I. A fully automated, easy to use, self-aligning spectrometer with increased stability and flexibility. Rev Sci Instrum 70:1589–1598

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lefeuvre O, Pang W, Zinin P, Comins JD, Every AG, Briggs GAD, Zeller BD, Thompson GE (1999) Determination of the elastic properties of a barrier film on aluminum by Brillouin spectroscopy. Thin Solid Films 350:53–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindsay SM, Anderson MW, Sandercock JR (1981) Construction and alignment of a high performance multipass Vernier tandem Fabry-Pérot interferometer. Rev Sci Instrum 52:1478–1486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loudon R (1978a) Theory of lineshapes for normal-incidence Brillouin scattering by acoustic phonons. J Phys C Solid State Phys 11:403–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loudon R (1978b) Theory of surface-ripple Brillouin scattering by solids. Phys Rev Lett 40:581–583

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loudon R, Sandercock JR (1980) Analysis of the light-scattering cross section for surface ripples on solids. J Phys C 13:2609–2622

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manghnani MH, Tkachev S, Zinin PV, Zhang X, Brazhkin VV, Lyapin AG, Trojan IA (2001) Elastic properties of superhard amorphous carbon pressure-synthesized from C60 by surface Brillouin scattering. Phys Rev B 64:121403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathe BA, Comins JD, Every AG, Hobbs LW (2017) High temperature surface Brillouin scattering study of mechanical properties of boron-doped epitaxial polysilicon. AIP Adv 7:025108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mills DL, Subbaswamy KR (1981) Surface and size effects on the light scattering spectra of solids. In: Wolf E (ed) Progress in optics, vol XIX. North Holland, Amsterdam, p 45

    Google Scholar 

  • Mock R, Guntherodt G (1984) Bulk elastic properties of metals determined by Brillouin scattering and its application to RCu2Si2 (R=rare earth). J Phys C Solid State Phys 17:5635

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mutti P, Bottani CE, Ghislotti G, Beghi M, Briggs GAD, Sandercock JR (1995) Surface Brillouin scattering – extending surface wave measurements to 20 GHz. In: Briggs GAD (ed) Advances in acoustic microscopy, vol 1. Plenum Press, New York, pp 249–300

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Nizzoli F, Sandercock JR (1990) Surface Brillouin scattering from phonons. In: Horton GK, Maradudin AA (eds) Dynamical properties of solids, vol 6. Elsevier, New York, pp 285–335

    Google Scholar 

  • Pang W, Every AG, Comins JD, Stoddart PR, Zhang X (1999) Brillouin scattering from acoustic excitations in TiN films on high speed steel – a stiffening system. J Appl Phys 86:311–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose JL (1999) Ultrasonic waves in solid media. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandercock JR (1982) Trends in Brillouin-scattering – studies of opaque materials, supported films, and central modes. In: Cardona M, Guntherodt G (eds) Light scattering in solids III. Recent results. Springer, Berlin, pp 173–206

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Stoddart PR, Comins JD, Every AG (1996) High-temperature studies of surface acoustic wave velocities in silicon by Brillouin scattering. Physica B219–220:717–719

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoddart PR, Crowhurst JC, Every AG, Comins JD (1998) Measurement precision in surface Brillouin scattering. J Opt Soc Am B 15:2481–2489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Subbaswamy KR, Maradudin AA (1978) Photoelastic and surface-corrugation contribution to Brillouin scattering from an opaque crystal. Phys Rev B 18:4181–4199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velasco VR, Garcia-Moliner F (1980) Theory of surface waves in anisotropic cubic crystals. J Phys C Solid State Phys 13:2237–2256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Viktorov IA (1967) Rayleigh and Lamb waves. Physical theory and applications. Plenum Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Vinh PC, Malischewsky PG (2007) An improved approximation of Bergmann’s form for the Rayleigh wave velocity. Ultrasonics 47:49–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wittkowski T, Distler G, Jung K, Hillebrands B, Comins JD (2004) General methods for the determining of the stiffness tensor and mass density of thin films using Brillouin light scattering: study of tungsten carbide films. Phys Rev B 69:205401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wittkowski T, Jung K, Hillebrands B, Comins JD (2006) Structural and chemical phase transitions in tungsten carbide films evidenced by the analysis of their stiffness tensors. J App Phys 100:073513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Comins JD, Every AG, Stoddart PR, Pang W, Derry TE (1998a) Surface Brillouin scattering study of the surface excitations in amorphous silicon layers produced by ion bombardment. Phys Rev B 58:13677–13685

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Comins JD, Every AG, Stoddart PR (1998b) Surface Brillouin scattering studies on vanadium carbide. Int J Refract Met Hard Mater 16:303–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Stoddart PR, Comins JD, Every AG (2001) High temperature elastic properties of a nickel-based superalloy studied by surface Brillouin scattering. J Phys Condens Matter 13:2281–2294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zinin P, Manghnani MH, Tkachev S, Askarpour V, Lefeuvre O, Every A (1999) Brillouin spectroscopy of surface in thin film Si3N4 on GaAs. Phys Rev B 60:2844–2850

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zizka J, King S, Every AG, Sooryakumar R (2016) Mechanical properties of low- and high-k dielectric thin films: a surface Brillouin light scattering study. J Appl Phys 119:144102

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    A. G. Every & J. D. Comins

Authors
  1. A. G. Every
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. D. Comins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. G. Every .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA

    Nathan Ida

  2. Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, Iowa State University Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, Ames, Iowa, USA

    Norbert Meyendorf

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, USA

    Ida Nathan

  2. Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    Norbert Meyendorf

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Every, A.G., Comins, J.D. (2018). Surface Brillouin Scattering. In: Ida, N., Meyendorf, N. (eds) Handbook of Advanced Non-Destructive Evaluation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30050-4_28-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30050-4_28-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-30050-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-30050-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EngineeringReference Module Computer Science and Engineering

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation