LOW FREQUENCY ACOUSTIC RESPONSE OF SURFACE CRACKS BY ATOM FORCE ACOUSTIC MICROSCOPY

Surface crack of CeF3 films generated by thermal stress were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atom force acoustic microscopy (AFAM). Low frequency (8–18 kHz) acoustic response of films and cracks was measured by AFAM. The low frequency acoustic response is similar to what had been got at several MHz or even higher frequency. It was found that surface elastic properties of CeF3 films can be easily qualitatively measured by low frequency AFAM.