A History of Surface Acoustic Wave Devices

Abstract

This paper gives a historical account of the development of Rayleigh-wave, or surface-acoustic-wave (SAW), devices for applications in electronics. The subject was spurred on initially by the requirements of pulse compression radar, and became a practical reality with the planar interdigital transducer, dating from 1965. The accessibility of the propagation path gave rise to substantial versatility, and a huge variety of devices were developed. Passive SAW devices are now ubiquitous, with applications ranging from professional radar and communications systems to consumer areas such as TV, pagers and mobile phones. The paper describes the extensive work, particularly in the 1970s, to investigate SAW propagation in crystalline media, including piezoelectric coupling, diffraction and temperature effects. This led to identification of many suitable materials. Concurrently, many devices began development, including pulse compression filters, bandpass filters, resonators, oscillators, convolvers and matched filters for spread spectrum communications. In the 1970s, many of these became established in professional systems, and the SAW bandpass filter became a standard component for domestic TV. In the 1980s and 90s, SAW responded to the new call for low-loss filters, particularly for mobile phones. With losses as low as 2 dB required (and subsequently achieved) at RF frequencies around 900 MHz, a raft of new technologies was developed. Additionaly, for IF filters special techniques were evolved to reduce the physical size needed for narrow bandwidths. Such devices are now manufactured in very large quantities. In order to satisfy these needs, new types of surface wave, particularly transverse leaky waves, were investigated, and materials using such waves now have their place alongside more traditional materials.