The surface acoustic wave (SAW) propagation properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) films on silicon carbide (SiC) have been theoretically and experimentally characterized in the film thickness-to-acoustic wavelength ratio range up to 0.12. The experimental characterization of the SAW propagation properties was performed with a linear array of interdigital transducer (IDT) structures. The measurements characterized the velocity and propagation loss of two surface modes, a generalized SAW (GSAW) mode with velocities between 6000 and 7000 m/s, and a high velocity Pseudo-SAW (HVPSAW) mode with velocities between 8500 and 12 500 m/s. The experimentally determined characteristics of the two waves have been compared with the results of calculations based on published data for SiC and ZnO. Simulation of wave characteristics was performed with various values of the elastic constant C(13), which is absent in the published set of material constants for SiC, within the interval permitted by the requirement of positive elastic energy in a hexagonal crystal. The best agreement between the measured and calculated propagation losses of the HVPSAW has been obtained for C(13) near zero. Although for the GSAW mode the calculated velocity dispersion has been found nearly insensitive to the value of C (13) and consistent with the experimental data, for the HVPSAW, some disagreement between measured and calculated velocities, which increased with ZnO film thickness, has been observed for any C(13 ) value. Theoretical analysis of HVPSAW has revealed the existence of a previously unknown high velocity SAW (HVSAW). The displacement components of this wave have been analyzed as functions of depth and confirmed its pure surface, one-partial character.

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There is a need for wireless sensors able to operate in the intermediate temperature range (ITR) between 300 °C and 600 °C. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors are promising candidates to solve this issue. However, existing SAW sensors most often fail in the ITR, due to the quick degradation of the sensor housing in extreme conditions. A promising way to circumvent the issue is to use “package-less” devices, where the acoustic waves are guided in a multilayered structure where they are intrinsically protected from adverse environmental effects. We present here an innovative multilayered structure that fulfills all the basic requirements, to achieve a wireless and “package-less” SAW Sensor for the ITR. The structure is made of a thin AlN layer deposited on top of a Y + 128°LN substrate and equipped with buried Pt electrodes. Numerical simulations of the acoustic waves propagating in SAW resonators built on this structure reveal the existence of a useful Rayleigh-type SAW that propagates at the AlN/LN interface with a velocity up to 4500 m/s and a high electromechanical coupling k2=5.6%, without leakage into the substrate. The existence of this mode is due to specific properties of the Y + 128°LN cut, which are analyzed in detail in this paper. The performances of an optimized AlN/Pt/LN structure are also compared to the ones of previously suggested “package-less” structures, including AlN/ZnO/Sapphire. It is shown that better device characteristics can be expected from the AlN/Pt/LN structure in the ITR.

The exceptional wave theory developed in the last two decades is applied to trigonal crystals, widely used in surface acoustic wave devices: quartz, lithium niobate, and lithium tantalate. For quartz all crystallographic orientations where one of bulk acoustic waves satisfies the stress-free mechanical boundary conditions, have been found and plotted on the stereographic projection of a unit wave normal sphere as ‘‘exceptional wave lines.’’ The possibility of existence and the main features of pure shear, quasishear, and quasilongitudinal exceptional waves are examined in three cut families with Euler angles (0°,θ,0°), (90°,90°,ψ), and (0°,θ,90°). These orientations are analyzed both without and with piezoelectric effect by means of analytical and numerical techniques. The obligatory existence of undamped surface skimming bulk waves or leaky waves is proved for selected cuts of trigonal crystals, such as a well-known 41°-rotated Y cut of lithium niobate. The behavior of these waves is compared in three crystals. A simple relation between elastic moduli of trigonal crystals with point symmetry of 32 or 3m has been derived, which allows the existence of a longitudinal type of exceptional waves. Such waves have been discovered in quartz. They are similar to those found earlier in lithium tetraborate and in both crystals they give rise to piezoelectrically coupled high velocity leaky waves with small attenuation.

We report two numerical examples of high-velocity surface acoustic waves, a type of surface waves which was recently shown to exist if a thin film is present on a surface. The nonattenuated high-velocity surface waves have been found in diamond orientation with Euler angles (0°,0°,45°) and sapphire orientation with Euler angles (0°,−20.3°,0°), with zinc oxide film. In diamond, the wave has “symmetric” structure with displacement in the symmetry plane while, in sapphire, the example of a “nonsymmetric” solution is presented. The numerical analysis has confirmed that, in both examples, the wave has a true surface nature, with one-partial structure in a substrate.

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