Mechanical characterization of temperature-sensitive objects using picosecond ultrasonics

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Biological objects are exquisitely sensitive to temperature variations and their mechanical characterization is often a challenge when using the picosecond ultrasonics technique. To reduce the laser-induced temperature rise, we place single biological cells on a thin metal transducer and we focus the laser beam that generates the acoustic waves at frequencies ≤ 150 GHz on the rear side of the transducer. The acoustic waves propagate through the transducer and are partially transmitted to the cell to create the so-called Brillouin oscillations. The frequency of these oscillations provides a direct measurement of the sound velocity. The simultaneous measurement of the acoustic reflection coefficient at the transducer/cell interface allows the determination of both the density and the compressibility of the cell.