Temperature Compensation of Surface Acoustic Waves on Berlinite

Abstract

The surface acoustic wave properties of Berlinite (a-AlPO4) have been investigated theoretically and experimentally, for a variety of crystallographic orientations, to evaluate its possible use as a substrate material for temperature compensated surface acoustic wave devices.

A computer program has been developed to calculate the surface wave properties of a material from its elastic, piezoelectric, dielectric and lattice constants and their temperature derivatives. The program calculates the temperature coefficient of delay, the velocity of the surface wave, the direction of power flow and a measure of the electro-mechanical coupling. These calculations have been performed for a large number of orientations using a modified form of the data given by Chang and Barsch for Berlinite and predict several new temperature compensated directions.

Experimental measurements have been made of the frequency-temperature response of a surface acoustic wave oscillator on an 80° X axis boule cut which show it to be temperature compensated in qualitative agreement with the theoretical predictions. This orientation shows a cubic frequency-temperature dependence instead of the expected parabolic response. Measurements of the electro-mechanical coupling coefficient k gave a value lower than predicted. Similar measurements on a Y cut plate gave a value which is approximately twice that of ST cut quartz, but again lower than predicted. The surface wave velocity on both these cuts was measured to be slightly higher than predicted by the computer program.

Experimental measurements of the lattice parameters a and c are also presented for a range of temperatures from 25°C to just above the alpha-beta transition at 584°C. These results are compared with the values obtained by Chang and Barsch.

The results of this work indicate that Berlinite should become a useful substrate material for the construction of temperature compensated surface acoustic wave devices.