Comparative Study of Acoustic Wave Devices Using Thin Piezoelectric Plates in the 3–5-GHz Range

Abstract

This paper investigates the applicability of acoustic wave devices using an interdigital transducer placed on a thin piezoelectric crystal plate to the 3–5-GHz range, where significant performance degradation was expected in surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. Three types of the SAW-like devices were fabricated by using a KrF stepper/scanner, and their performances are compared from various aspects: 1) a 3.5-GHz resonator using a rotated $Y$ -cut LiTaO3 plate attached on a Si substrate; 2) a 5-GHz resonator using a $X$ -cut LiNbO3 plate on a Si substrate; and 3) a 5.4-GHz $A_{1}$ Lamb mode resonator on a free-standing $Z$ -cut LiNbO3 plate. It is revealed that these devices offer excellent performances even in the 3–5-GHz range.