Experimental and Theoretical Study of Multifrequency Surface Acoustic Wave Devices in a Single Si/SiO2/ZnO Piezoelectric Structure.

The propagation of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) along a ZnO/SiO2/Si piezoelectric structure is experimentally and theoretically studied. Six surface acoustic modes were experimentally detected in the 134 to 570 MHz frequency range, for acoustic wavelength λ = 30 µm, and for SiO2 and ZnO layers with a thickness of 1 and 2.4 µm. The numerical and three-dimensional (3D) finite element method analysis revealed that the multilayered substrate supports the propagation of Rayleigh and Sezawa modes (Rm and Sm), their third and fifth harmonics at λ/3 and λ/5. The velocity of all the modes was found in good agreement with the theoretically predicted values. Eigenfrequency, frequency domain, and time domain studies were performed to calculate the velocity, the electroacoustic coupling coefficient, the shape of the modes, the propagation loss, and the scattering parameter S21 of the SAW delay lines based on the propagation of these modes. The sensitivity to five different gases (dichloromethane, trichloromethane, carbontetrachloride, tetrachloroethylene, and trichloroethylene) was calculated under the hypothesis that the ZnO surface is covered by a polyisobutylene (PIB) layer 0.8 µm thick. The results show that the modes resonating at different frequencies exhibit different sensitivities toward the same gas. The multi-frequency ZnO/SiO2/Si single device structure is a promising solution for the development of a multiparameters sensing platform; multiple excitation frequencies with different sensing properties can allow the parallel analysis of the same gas with improved accuracy.

Amorphous SiC/c-ZnO-Based Quasi-Lamb Mode Sensor for Liquid Environments.

The propagation of the quasi-Lamb modes along a-SiC/ZnO thin composite plates was modeled and analysed with the aim to design a sensor able to detect the changes in parameters of a liquid environment, such as added mass and viscosity changes. The modes propagation was modeled by numerically solving the system of coupled electro-mechanical field equations in three media. The mode shape, the power flow, the phase velocity, and the electroacoustic coupling efficiency (K²) of the modes were calculated, specifically addressing the design of enhanced-coupling, microwave frequency sensors for applications in probing the solid/liquid interface. Three modes were identified that have predominant longitudinal polarization, high phase velocity, and quite good K²: the fundamental quasi symmetric mode (qS0) and two higher order quasi-longitudinal modes (qL1 and qL2) with a dominantly longitudinal displacement component in one plate side. The velocity and attenuation of these modes were calculated for different liquid viscosities and added mass, and the gravimetric and viscosity sensitivities of both the phase velocity and attenuation were theoretically calculated. The present study highlights the feasibility of the a-SiC/ZnO acoustic waveguides for the development of high-frequency, integrated-circuit compatible electroacoustic devices suitable for working in a liquid environment.

Experimental and Theoretical Analysis of Rayleigh and Leaky-Sezawa Waves Propagating in ZnO/Fused Silica Substrates.

Piezoelectric c-axis oriented zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films, from 1.8 up to 6.6 µm thick, have been grown by the radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique onto fused silica substrates. A delay line consisting of two interdigital transducers (IDTs) with wavelength λ = 80 µm was photolithographically implemented onto the surface of the ZnO layers. Due to the IDTs' split-finger configuration and metallization ratio (0.5), the propagation of the fundamental, third, and ninth harmonic Rayleigh waves is excited; also, three leaky surface acoustic waves (SAWs) were detected travelling at a velocity close to that of the longitudinal bulk wave in SiO2. The acoustic waves' propagation in ZnO/fused silica was simulated by using the 2D finite-element method (FEM) technique to identify the nature of the experimentally detected waves. It turned out that, in addition to the fundamental and harmonic Rayleigh waves, high-frequency leaky surface waves are also excited by the harmonic wavelengths; such modes are identified as Sezawa waves under the cut-off, hereafter named leaky Sezawa (LS). The velocities of all the modes was found to be in good agreement with the theoretically calculated values. The existence of a low-loss region in the attenuation vs. layer thickness curve for the Sezawa wave below the cut-off was theoretically predicted and experimentally assessed.