Bulk and surface acoustic wave phenomena in crystals: Observation and interpretation

•We review acoustic wave phenomena in crystals.•We place emphasis on phonon imaging, laser ultrasound and acoustic microscopy.•We explore bulk and surface wave phenomena in near and far fields.•We treat slowness and wave surfaces, acoustic axes and polarization singularities.

Crystal acoustics is a field that has engaged the attention of theoreticians and experimentalists alike for decades and more. Many striking effects have been revealed, and elegant analytical techniques applied to their interpretation. This article is oriented towards the experimental aspects of the field and the interpretation of the phenomena that have been observed. Particular attention is given to reviewing the techniques that have probed the intricacy of acoustic wave propagation in crystals, including phonon imaging, laser- and capillary-fracture-generated ultrasound, transmission acoustic microscopy and surface Brillouin scattering, and a selection of results obtained with these techniques is presented. Some of these studies pertain to bulk waves and others to surface acoustic waves. The interpretation of far-field observations is carried out within the ray approximation, and elastodynamic Green’s functions are invoked in the interpretation of near-field results. Extensive use is made of the acoustic-slowness and wave surfaces, in particular features such as acoustic axes, with their attendant polarization singularities, and folds in the wave surface.