Study of AFM-based probe for detecting laser induced surface acoustic wave

An atomic force microscope (AFM)-based probe applied to detect laser induced surface acoustic wave (SAW) is presented. A YAG pulsed laser source is used to generate the laser induced SAW. The AFM-based probe utilizes a tip attached to a cantilever to detect surface nano-vibration through an interaction of atomic force between the tip and the surface. When the pulsed laser beam irradiates the target sample a SAW will be induced, generating a nano-vibration on the surface. We have detected such nano-vibration as well as SAW by the AFM based probe for the first time. Experimental results show that the laser induced SAW occurs when the YAG laser irradiates the surface, and this kind of SAW can be effectively detected by using the AFM-based probe proposed in the paper.