High-Performance Surface Transverse Wave Resonators in the Lower GHz Frequency Range

Abstract

Since the first successful surface transverse wave (STW) resonator was demonstrated by Bagwell and Bray in 1987, STW resonant devices on temperature stable cut orientations of piezoelectric quartz have enjoyed a spectacular development. The tremendous interest in these devices is based on the fact that, compared to the widely used surface acoustic waves (SAW), the STW acoustic mode features some unique properties which makes it very attractive for low-noise microwave oscillator applications in the 1.0 to 3.0 GHz frequency range in which SAW based or dielectric resonator oscillators (DRO) fail to provide satisfactory performance. These STW properties include: high propagation velocity, material Q-values exceeding three times those of SAW and bulk acoustic waves (BAW) on quartz, low propagation loss, unprecedented 1/f device phase noise, extremely high power handling ability, as well as low aging and low vibration sensitivity. This paper reviews the fundamentals of STW propagation in resonant geometries on rotated Y-cuts of quartz and highlights important design aspects necessary for achieving desired STW resonator performance. Different designs of high- and low-Q, low-loss resonant devices and coupled resonator filters (CRF) in the 1.0 to 2.5 GHz range are characterized and discussed. Design details and data on state-of-the-art STW based fixed frequency and voltage controlled oscillators (VCO) with low phase noise and high power efficiency are presented. Finally, several applications of STW devices in GHz range data transmitters, receivers and sensors are described and discussed.