Transition from 1D to 2D Laser-Induced Ultrasonic Wave Propagation in an Extended Plate

Optodynamic interaction between a laser pulse and the surface of an opaque, solid elastic object produces transient waves that propagate and reverberate within the object. They can be, in general, categorized into three distinctive types which are all formed through different mechanisms: ablation-induced waves, light-pressure-induced waves, and thermoelastic waves. In this paper, out-of-plane displacements of such waves are simulated at the epicentral position on the opposite side of an extended plane-parallel elastic plate. Wave propagation is mathematically described by Green’s transfer functions convolved with suitable time profiles of the incoming laser pulses. The simulated size of the circularly symmetric laser-illuminated area on the plate surface is varied to show the limit-to-limit transition of the displacement waveforms: from a 2D point source to an infinite 1D source.