Scientists from HSE University and the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed a method that allows them to literally "see" the propagation of sound within materials and identify problems in components for new generation 5G and 6G communication in advance.
This refers to ultra-high frequency acoustic filters – key elements of modern communication systems. They convert an electromagnetic signal into ultrasound and back, helping to clear the signal from interference.
The problem is that at gigahertz frequencies, the behavior of ultrasound at the boundary of a thin film and substrate becomes extremely unpredictable. Even microscopic slippage of the material can lead to the filter failing to transmit the signal, and developers will only find out about this after creating an expensive prototype.
Russian physicists have proposed a way to test such materials before assembling the device. For this, they use short laser pulses. The first laser heats a tiny area of the surface and launches an acoustic wave along it – similar to ripples on water after a stone is thrown. The second laser tracks the movement of this wave by changes in the reflected light.
As a result, scientists obtain a kind of "photograph" of sound, which can be used to determine how reliably the materials are bonded and how they will behave at ultra-high frequencies.
During the experiments, researchers worked with quartz glass and a boron nitride film about 600 nanometers thick. The method for the first time allowed measuring the transverse adhesion stiffness between a two-dimensional material and a substrate in this way.
According to the authors, the technology will help create components for 6G networks faster and cheaper, as well as develop new devices for controlling sound propagation. The research results are published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
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