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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
We present a study of the effect of elevated temperatures on the high frequency viscoelastic waves guided by thin films of poly(styrene) [PS] and poly(methyl methacrylate) [PMMA]. The films, which are spincoated onto Si(OOl) wafers, have thicknesses h ˜ 1000 Å. The frequencies and linewidths of the film-guided waves were measured using Brillouin light scattering (BLS). In both PS and PMMA, we observed guided waves for temperatures above the glass transition temperature Tg of the polymers, however, the damping of the waves for temperatures above Tg was significantly higher for PS. We observed no significant (< 1 %) difference between room temperature guided-wave frequencies for films annealed at temperatures below and above Tg for PS, and a slight (4 %) increase in the wave frequency for PMMA following annealing at a temperature above Tg. The heating effects due to the focussing of the laser beam on the film surface are quite small (˜ 16°C/100 mW laser power).