Focused Ultrasonic Beam Behavior at a Stress-Free Boundary and Applicability for Measuring Nonlinear Parameter in a Reflection Mode

In this work, we employ a focused beam theory to modify the phase reversal at the stress-free boundary, and consequently enhance the second harmonic generation during its back-propagation toward the initial source position. We first confirmed this concept through experiment by using a spherically focused beam at the water-air interface, and measuring the reflected second harmonic and comparing with a planar wave reflected from the same stress-free or a rigid boundary. In order to test the feasibility of this idea for measuring the nonlinearity parameter of solids in a reflection mode, a focused nonlinear ultrasonic beam is modeled for focusing at and reflection from a stress-free boundary. A nonlinearity parameter expression is then defined together with diffraction and attenuation corrections.