FEM/BEM for Simulation of LSAW Devices

Abstract

This paper presents a modeling of the propagation of surface acoustic, leaky acoustic, and surface skimming bulk waves in piezoelectrics with a finite array of metallic electrodes over their surface. A combined method of matrix Green's function and the finite element method for computation of all acoustic wave fields is an effective tool for simulation of the propagation of acoustic waves in such structures. The proposed method is optimized in the speed of computation of all matrix Green's function components originally obtained. The Fourier transformations of Green's function from kappa-space domain to real space domain are performed by combined trapezoidal and Filon's integration methods for rapidly oscillating functions. The trapezoidal integration method is used on a distance from a point source from zero to a few wavelengths long, but the other has the advantage for a distance from some wavelength to infinity. That allows one, by selectively condensing computation grids around branch and singular points of the sharp behavior of Green's function, to maximize speed and accuracy of computation of integrals. FEM is used, modified originally to achieve acceleration without loss accuracy. Because of the simple geometry of the electrodes, unknown elastic fields are presented as a series of known eigenfunctions with unknown coefficients over the whole region of electrodes. All unknown coefficients are determined by applying the Galerkin method. There is good agreement between numerical and experimental conductances of acoustic wave transducers on materials such as lithium niobate and lithium tantalate.