Two-dimensional thermoelastic wave propagation

The photothermal and photoacoustical effects can be described by means of thermo-elastic wave equations. However, analytical solutions describing those processes in optical components consisting of several optical coatings are not known. We have applied the local interaction simulation approach in order to simulate the generation and propagation of thermo-elastic waves in homogeneous and layered 2D media. A sharp interface model was applied at each layer interface. A few selected examples of thermo- elastic wave propagation in 2D are presented.