Optical generation of surface acoustic waves guided at the linear boundary between two thin films

Laser-induced transient grating measurements and ultrafast optical pump-probe imaging of surface acoustic waves near a linear boundary between copper and silica films on a silicon substrate indicate the presence of a boundary-localized mode with a phase velocity slightly below the Rayleigh wave velocity on the copper film. We analyze in detail the dispersion of this localized mode in comparison with that of the Rayleigh waves in the surrounding materials. The existence of the localized mode is ascribed to the nonuniformity of the copper film thickness near its edge resulting from polishing during fabrication.