Absolute pressure measurements on a nanosecond time scale using surface plasmons

Transient acoustic waves generated by laser-induced bubble formation at a liquid–solid interface are sensitively monitored using optically excited surface plasmons. This method enables the detection of both the compressive and tensile waves with high accuracy as demonstrated for the propagation and reflection of acoustic pulses at a quartz–water interface. Unique advantages of this new technique are the high sensitivity of 0.1–0.2 MPa that could be achieved for absolute pressure measurements on a nanosecond time scale and its ability to probe exact pulse profiles due to the localized probe depth of surface plasmons. © 1996 American Institute of Physics. @S0003-6951~96!03353-0#