Longitudinal-Type Leaky Surface Acoustic Wave on LiNbO3 with High-Velocity Thin Film

Abstract

The loss reduction of a longitudinal-type leaky surface acoustic wave (LLSAW) by loading with a dielectric thin film with a higher velocity than the substrate is proposed. An aluminum nitride (AlN) thin film was adopted as a high-velocity thin film, and the propagation properties of an LLSAW on an X36°Y-LiNbO3 (LN) substrate were investigated. First, the elastic constants c11 and c44 of an amorphous AlN (a-AlN) thin film deposited by RF magnetron sputtering were determined from the measured phase velocities of two SAW modes with mutually perpendicular particle motion, and they were 78 and 96% of those of a single-crystal AlN thin film. Next, from the theoretical calculation for the LLSAW on X36°Y-LN using the determined constants, it was found that the LLSAW attenuation can be reduced to zero by loading with an a-AlN thin film. Then, the propagation properties of the LLSAW on X36°Y-LN were measured by using an interdigital transducer pair. It was found that the losses due to bulk wave radiation can be reduced by loading with an a-AlN thin film.