Acoustic waves at interfaces studied by laser ultrasonics (invited)

When energy is deposited at the interface between two materials, then acoustic waves that are confined in the interface region and traveling in the plane of the interface may arise. In this article, we illustrate the feasibility and versatility of interface wave laser ultrasonics by presenting a selection of recently developed laser ultrasonic configurations for detecting acoustic waves at the free surface of a solid and at a liquid–solid interface in a variety of applications, such as nonlinear wave propagation, characterization of coatings, porous materials and substrates, and acoustic wave imaging.