Laser ultrasound for the study of thin sheets

Laser ultrasound is now an accepted and mature technology. However it is still seeking its first fully commercial industrial application although there are several potential uses in prototype form. The major advantage of laser ultrasound is that it is a non contact technique and can therefore be used on hot or moving components. The pulsed laser source generates simultaneously longitudinal and shear bulk waves and Rayleigh surface waves. When the material is in the form of a thin sheet the latter propagate as Lamb or plate waves providing the ultrasonic wavelength is greater than the sheet thickness