Stroboscopic synchrotron-X-radiation topography and its application to the imaging of travelling surface acoustic waves

Abstract Images of travelling Rayleigh waves on surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices have recently been obtained using high frequency stroboscopic X-ray topography. When the excited SAW was phase locked to the pulsed synchrotron X-radiation emitted from the Daresbury SRS operating in single bench mode, well defined, “time frozen” images of the strains associated with the propagating wavefronts were obtained. The instrumentation and experimental requirements for these and similar stroboscopic experiments using multiple bunches are described. Examples of results of work on LiNbO3 and quartz SAW devices are given and the extension to more general stroboscopic X-ray scattering experiments is discussed.