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Properties of higher-order surface acoustic wave modes in Al(1-x)Sc(x)N / sapphire structures
(2021)
In this work, surface acoustic wave (SAW) modes and their dependence on propagation directions in epitaxial Al0.68Sc0.32N(0001) films on Al2O3(0001) substrates were studied using numerical and experimental methods. In order to find optimal propagation directions for higher-order SAW modes, phase velocity dispersion branches of Al0.68Sc0.32N on Al2O3 with Pt mass loading were computed for the propagation directions <11-20> and <1-100> with respect to the substrate. Experimental investigations of phase velocities and electromechanical coupling were performed for comparison with the numerical results. Simulations carried out with the finite element method (FEM) and with a Green function approach allowed identification of each wave type, including Rayleigh, Sezawa and shear horizontal wave modes. For the propagation direction <1-100>, significantly increased wave guidance of the Sezawa mode compared to other directions was observed, resulting in enhanced electromechanical coupling (k2eff = 1.6 %) and phase velocity (vphase = 6 km/s). We demonstrated, that selecting wave propagation in <1-100> with high mass density electrodes results in increased electromechanical coupling without significant reduction in phase velocities for the Sezawa wave mode. An improved combination of metallization, Sc concentration x, and SAW propagation direction is suggested which exhibits both high electromechanical coupling (k2eff > 6 %) and high velocity (vphase = 5.5 km/s) for the Sezawa mode.
Surface acoustic waves are propagated toward the edge of an anisotropic elastic medium (a silicon crystal), which supports leaky waves with a high degree of localization at the tip of the edge. At an angle of incidence corresponding to phase matching with this leaky wedge wave, a sharp peak in the reflection coefficient of the surface wave was found. This anomalous reflection is associated with efficient excitation of the leaky wedge wave. In laser ultrasound experiments, surface acoustic wave pulses were excited and their reflection from the edge of the sample and their partial conversion into leaky wedge wave pulses was observed by optical probe-beam deflection. The reflection scenario and the pulse shapes of the surface and wedge-localized guided waves, including the evolution of the acoustic pulse traveling along the edge, have been confirmed in detail by numerical simulations.