Laser-based nonlinear surface acoustic waves: From solitary to bond-breaking shock waves

A laser-based pump-probe setup is described that allows the excitation of surface acoustic wave (SAW) pulses with finite amplitudes, employing the absorption-layer method. Due to elastic nonlinearity of the medium these nonlinear elastic pulses develop steep shock fronts during propagation in a dispersion-free medium. In layered systems solitary waves can be realized if the nonlinear effects are compensated by normal or anomalous dispersion. In pure materials, such as silica and silicon single crystals, fracture can be induced when the stress in the wave front reaches the critical strength, which can be measured for defined geometries.