OPTICAL-DETECTION OF SURFACE ACOUSTIC-WAVES PROPAGATING ALONG AN INTERFACE BETWEEN 2 SOLIDS

We report an optical detection of interface waves based on the acousto-optic interaction. The variation of the index of refraction induced by a wave propagating inside a transparent media is measured using interferometric detection. This index variation is related to the compressional acoustic strain. We applied this detection method to study the propagation of interface waves under two kinds of boundary conditions (slip or rigidly bonded) between the solid substrates.