Surface acoustic wave enabled all-optical determination of the interlayer elastic constants of van der Waals interface

TL;DR

This study uses surface acoustic waves generated by ultrafast lasers to non-invasively measure the elastic properties of 2D material interfaces, specifically h-BN on fused silica, revealing their elastic coupling constants.

Contribution

It introduces an all-optical method to determine interlayer elastic constants of van der Waals interfaces using surface acoustic wave dispersion analysis.

Findings

Measured surface acoustic wave dispersion in h-BN flakes.

Determined interlayer elastic constants $c^*_{33}$ and $c^*_{44}$.

Demonstrated non-invasive optical characterization of 2D material interfaces.

Abstract

Understanding the properties of two-dimensional materials interfaces with the substrate is necessary for device applications. Surface acoustic wave propagation through the layered material flake on a substrate could provide unique information on the transverse rigidity of the flake-to-substrate interaction. We generate ultrasonic waves by a focused femtosecond laser pulse at the surface of the model system -- fused silica with h-BN flake transferred above. Using an all-optical spatially resolved pump-probe interferometric technique, we measure the spatial dependencies of the surface vertical velocity profiles. Our measurements reveal the appearance of the surface acoustic wave dispersion in the hBN flake region compared to fused silica surface. Multilayer modeling allows us to gain access to longitudinal and shear elastic coupling constants $c^*_{33}$ and $c^*_{44}$ between hexagonal BN and substrate.