X-ray imaging and diffraction from surface phonons on GaAs

Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are excited on the GaAs (001) surface by using interdigital transducers, designed for frequencies of up to 900 MHz. The emitted phonons with wavelengths down to 3.5 μm are visualized and characterized by combined x-ray diffraction techniques. Using stroboscopic topography, the SAW emission of a parallel and a focusing transducer geometry are imaged. High-resolution x-ray diffraction profiles show up to 12 phonon-induced satellite reflections besides the GaAs (004) reflection, with a width of 9 arcsec each. The diffraction pattern is simulated numerically, applying the kinematical scattering theory to a model crystal. From fits to measured diffraction profiles at different excitation voltages, the SAW amplitudes were calculated and found to be in the sub-nm range.