BRI: Brillouin Scattering

Brillouin scattering is the scattering of light by sound. It is widely used to measure the elastic properties of materials, especially at high frequencies (up to GHz) or for small samples, e.g. thin films and biological specimens. In this experiment, intense laser light is scattered from sound waves in liquids and examined with a Fabry-Perot spectrometer at 90°.

Write-Up in PDF Format or Microsoft Word Format.

(The experiment is currently located in MP247; last write-up revision: July 2013.)

Additional resources:

Instruction Manual and Tech Memo for Burleigh Fabry-Perot.

Photo of lab technologists working on BRI apparatus.

Former lab technicians Tak Sato and Greg Vowles working with the Brillouin Scattering apparatus, Summer 2005.