Attenuation of 7 GHz surface acoustic waves on silicon

We measured the attenuation of GHz frequency surface acoustic waves (SAWs) on the Si (001) surface using an optical pump-probe technique at temperatures between 300 and 600 K. SAWs are generated and detected by a 700 nm Al grating fabricated by nanoimprint lithography. The grating for SAW generation is separated from the grating for SAW detection by ≈150μm. The amplitude of SAWs is attenuated by coupling to bulk waves created by the Al grating, diffraction due to the finite size of the source, and the intrinsic relaxational Akhiezer damping of elastic waves in Si. Thermal phonon relaxation time and Grüneisen parameters are fitted using temperature-dependent measurement. The fQ product of a hypothetical micromechanical oscillator limited by Akhiezer damping at this frequency is ∼3×1013 Hz.