Laser generation of surface acoustic modes guided by copper lines of sub-micron width on silicon

Surface acoustic waves guided by a copper line embedded in a silica film on a silicon wafer were generated and detected optically using the laser-induced transient grating technique. Lines as narrow as approximately 0.2 microm yield a good signal despite the much larger size of the laser spot. The phase velocity of the guided mode is slightly lower than the surface acoustic wave velocity in the thin film structure. Good correlation between the acoustic frequency and the electrical resistivity of the copper lines results from the dependence of both measurements on the line width.