Study on the electromechanical coupling coefficient of Rayleigh-type surface acoustic waves in semi-infinite piezoelectrics/non-piezoelectrics superlattices

The electromechanical coupling coefficient of Rayleigh-type surface acoustic waves in semi-infinite piezoelectrics/non-piezoelectrics superlattices is investigated by the transfer matrix method. Research results show the high electromechanical coupling coefficient can be obtained in these systems. The optimization design of it is also discussed fully. It is significantly influenced by electrical boundary conditions on interfaces, thickness ratios of piezoelectric and non-piezoelectric layers, and material parameters (such as velocities of pure longitudinal and transversal bulk waves in non-piezoelectric layers). In order to obtain higher electromechanical coupling coefficient, shorted interfaces, non-piezoelectric materials with large velocities of longitudinal and transversal bulk waves, and proper thickness ratios should be chosen.     

Exciton transport by surface acoustic waves

Long-range acoustic transport of excitons in GaAs quantum wells (QWs) is demonstrated. The mobile strain field of a surface acoustic wave creates a dynamic lateral type I modulation of the conduction and valence bands in a double-quantum-well (DQW) structure. This mobile potential modulation transports long-living indirect excitons in the DQW over several hundreds of μm.     

Frequency separation of surface acoustic waves in layered structures with acoustic metamaterials

We show theoretically that in elastic layered structures containing an upper layer of smoothly varied thickness and a substrate of a highly dispersive metametarial it is possible to significantly enhance spatial frequency separation of surface acoustic waves. Theory of Love surface acoustic waves propagation in waveguides with varied thickness, taking into account mutual modes coupling, is built. Appropriate structure of metamatererial with resonant frequency dependence of material parameters, making frequency separation effective, is provided. Efficiency of spatial frequency separation and modes coupling is calculated for various metamaterial parameters and wave frequencies.     

Modulation of the electronic properties of GaAs quantum wells induced by surface acoustic waves

We investigated the modulation of the optical properties of GaAs-based structures by a surface acoustic wave (SAW) by microscopic measurements of reflectance and photoluminescence. We demonstrate that for photon energies away from electronic resonances, the modulation of the optical properties is associated with the strain field of the SAW (elastooptical mechanism). Close to the E₀ resonance, the electrooptical modulation due to the SAW piezoelectric fields becomes important and leads to a spatial modulation of the photoluminescence intensity.     

Novel method for photovoltaic energy conversion using surface acoustic waves in piezoelectric semiconductors

This paper presents a novel principle for photovoltaic (PV) energy conversion using surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in piezoelectric semiconductors. A SAW produces a periodically modulated electric potential, which spatially segregates photoexcited electrons and holes to the maxima and minima of the SAW potential. The moving SAW collectively transports the carriers with the speed of sound to the electrodes made of different materials, which extract electrons and holes separately and generate dc output. The proposed active design is expected to have higher efficiency than passive designs of the existing PV devices and to produce enough energy to sustain the SAW.     

A two-dimensional analysis of surface acoustic waves in finite elastic plates with eigensolutions

It is generally known that surface acoustic waves, or Rayleigh waves, have different mode shapes in infinite plates. To be precise, there are both exponentially decaying and growing components in plates appearing in pairs, representing symmetric and antisymmentric modes in a plate. As the plate thickness increases, the combined modes will approach the Rayleigh mode in a semi-infinite solid, exhibiting surface acoustic wave deformation and velocity. In this study, the two-dimensional theory for surface acoustic waves in finite plates is extended to include the exponentially growing modes in the expansion function. With these extra equations, we study the surface acoustic waves in a plate with different thickness to examine the coupling of the exponentially decaying and growing modes. It is found that for small thickness, the two groups of waves are strongly coupled, showing the significance of including the effect of thickness in analysis. As the thickness increases to certain values, such as more than five wavelengths, the exponentially decaying modes alone will be able to predict vibrations of surface acoustic wave modes accurately, thus simplifying the equations and solutions significantly. Supported by Qianjiang River Fund established by Zhejiang Provincial Government and Ningbo University and administered by Ningbo University and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10572065)     

Hydrogen detection with surface acoustic transverse waves

Summary A new hydrogen sensor is here presented, based on the use of horizontally polarized surface transverse waves (STW). The use of these waves for application to chemical sensors seems attractive because of the possibility of controlling their penetration depth into the substrate and thus increasing the sensitivity of the device. Preliminary experiments, performed on a ST-cut quartz substrate, have shown how the response of the device strongly increases with the STW energy trapping in the sensitive Pd film.     

The dispersion properties of surface acoustic wave devices on AlN/LiNbO3 film/substrate structure

Highly c-axis oriented aluminum nitride (AlN) films were deposited on z-cut LiNbO₃ substrates by reactive rf magnetron sputtering. The crystalline properties investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that AlN film with (0 0 2) preferred orientation was improved by an increase of the deposition time within the experimental range. However, the surface morphology of AlN film measured by scanning probe microscopy (SPM) showed that the roughness was getting worse with increase of deposition time. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) properties, measured by a network analyzer in the structure consisting of highly c-axis AlN films on z-cut LiNbO₃ substrates, were investigated. The phase velocity (V_P) was significantly increased by the increase of h/λ, where h is the thickness of AlN film and λ is the wavelength. However, the insertion loss (IL) of SAW filters was also increased by the increase of h/λ. Experimental results on the temperature characteristics of SAW devices are also presented.     

Numerical simulation of laser-generated surface acoustic waves in the transparent coating on a substrate by the finite element method

The optimum finite element model in the system consisting of a transparent coating and an opaque substrate is established based on the analysis of two important parameters: meshing size and time step, and the stability of solution. Taking into account the temperature dependence of material properties, the transient temperature and temperature gradient field are obtained. According to the thermoelastic theory, this temperature gradient field can be taken as a buried bulk source to generate ultrasonic wave. The surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are obtained. The influence of the coating thickness on the SAWs is analyzed. The model provides a useful tool for the determination of modes which are generated by a laser source in transparent coating on opaque substrate. The surface skimming longitudinal wave exists for the multiple oscillations and it charges from unipolar waveforms to dipolar.     

基于衍射条纹非对称性的表面波衰减系数的测量

通过采用将入射光掠入射到频率为几百赫兹的衰减低频液体表面波上,观察到了清晰的间距分布具有明显非对称性的衍射条纹。当入射光掠入射到低频液体表面上时,衍射图样非对称分布具有普遍性。理论上得到了考虑表面波衰减影响后观察屏处衍射光强分布的解析表达式。理论结果表明:衍射图样的这种非对称分布与衍射级次、入射光波波长、液体表面波波长及表面波衰减系数有关;正负级次衍射亮条纹距离中央零级亮条纹的间距体现表面波衰减信息;正衍射级次之间以及负衍射级次之间的条纹间距体现表面波波长信息。利用所提出的方法实现了对几百赫兹液体表面波的衰减系数的实时便捷测量。     

声表面波在圆弧处反射及透射的数值研究*

为了研究直达表面波在圆弧过渡面处传播性能的变化,采用有限元方法模拟了热弹机制下,线性脉冲激光辐照金属铝块表面时激发的表面波在近表面传播过程中,在不同曲率半径的圆弧处发生的反射及透射现象,建立了圆弧半径与反射表面波以及透射表面波时域信号特征之间的联系。计算结果表明:曲率半径与表面波中心波长的数值关系对表面波在圆弧处的传播有显著的影响;同时证明了根据透射表面波信号的到达时间可以反演圆弧半径的大小,为之后利用表面波信号定量检测材料表面圆弧凹痕的深度提供了理论依据。     

Surface and quasi-longitudinal acoustic waves in KTiOAsO4 single crystals

Surface and quasi-longitudinal acoustic wave properties have been investigated in potassium titanyl arsenate (KTiOAsO₄, KTA) single crystals for the first time. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) velocity, electromechanical coupling coefficient and power flow angle characteristics have been obtained in rotated Y-cut of KTA crystals. High SAW electromechanical coupling coefficient (0.4%) is found in Z-cut of KTA crystals. For high-frequency devices it is promising the resonators on quasi-longitudinal acoustic wave in X-cut of KTA crystals with sharp response in interdigital transducer conductance at resonance frequency.     

Generalized collar waves in acoustic logging while drilling

Tool waves, also named collar waves, propagating along the drill collars in acoustic logging while drilling(ALWD),strongly interfere with the needed P- and S-waves of a penetrated formation, which is a key issue in picking up formation P- and S-wave velocities. Previous studies on physical insulation for the collar waves designed on the collar between the source and the receiver sections did not bring to a satisfactory solution. In this paper, we investigate the propagation features of collar waves in different models. It is confirmed that there exists an indirect collar wave in the synthetic full waves due to the coupling between the drill collar and the borehole, even there is a perfect isolator between the source and the receiver.The direct collar waves propagating all along the tool and the indirect ones produced by echoes from the borehole wall are summarized as the generalized collar waves. Further analyses show that the indirect collar waves could be relatively strong in the full wave data. This is why the collar waves cannot be eliminated with satisfactory effect in many cases by designing the physical isolators carved on the tool.     

Efficient intensity modulation due to surface acoustic waves on windows of the AlGaN/InGaN multiple quantum well laser

An alternative method for modulation of light generated by AlGaN/InGaN multiple quantum well laser with quartz antireflective (AR) coatings covering the resonator windows was modelled and studied theoretically. Disturbance of the piezoelectric coatings caused by surface acoustic waves (SAW) results in efficient intensity modulation of the laser beam. The model for the laser diode operating at DC demonstrates that the modulation factor can exceed 0.2 in sub-nanometer SAW displacement. For quarter-wave AR films, the carrier frequency of modulated beam has twice the frequency of SAW.     

退火温度对声表面波检测器电极 表面粗糙度的影响*

该文实验研究了退火温度对声表面波检测器电极表面粗糙度的影响。电极表面的粗糙度随着退火温度不同而变化,实验中分别选择常温(25?C)、200?C和300?C作为退火温度对两种镀膜方式制备的声表面波器件进行退火,最后得到退火温度和电极表面粗糙度的对应关系。从实验结果来看,退火温度为200?C时,得到的电极表面粗糙度最大。该研究为声表面波检测器表面粗糙度优化及灵敏度提升提供了基础。     

The viscous effects on shear horizontal surface acoustic waves in semi-infinite superlattices

In this paper, by a semi-analytical method, the propagation characteristics of shear horizontal surface acoustic waves in semi-infinite superlattices containing viscous materials are investigated. The factors that influence the attenuation and phase velocity of the surface waves are analyzed in detail. The results may be useful for the design of acoustic wave devices.     

Acousto-optic interaction with leaky surface acoustic waves in Y-cut LiTaO3 crystals

The acousto-optic interaction with leaky surface acoustic wave radiation into the bulk of YX-cut LiTaO₃ crystals has been investigated. The light incidence and diffraction angles corresponding to the strongest acousto-optic interaction were calculated and measured as functions of the acoustic wave frequency. The dependencies of the diffracted light intensity on the amplitude of radio-frequency voltage applied to the interdigital transducer (IDT) were studied. Our acousto-optic measurements revealed generation, by the IDTs, of slow shear bulk acoustic waves propagating at different angles depending on their frequency. A secondary acousto-optic interaction from the bulk waves radiated by the receiving IDT has been studied.     

Nebulization of siRNA for inhalation therapy based on a microfluidic surface acoustic wave platform

The local delivery of therapeutic small interfering RNA or siRNA to the lungs has the potential to improve the prognosis for patients suffering debilitating lung diseases. Recent advances in materials science have been aimed at addressing delivery challenges including biodistribution, bioavailability and cell internalization, but an equally important challenge to overcome is the development of an inhalation device that can deliver the siRNA effectively to the lung, without degrading the therapeutic itself. Here, we report the nebulization of siRNA, either naked siRNA or complexed with polyethyleneimine (PEI) or a commercial transfection agent, using a miniaturizable acoustomicrofluidic nebulization device. The siRNA solution could be nebulised without significant degradation into an aerosol mist with tunable mean aerodynamic diameters of approximately 3 µm, which is appropriate for deep lung deposition via inhalation. The nebulized siRNA was tested for its stability, as well as its toxicity and gene silencing properties using the mammalian lung carcinoma cell line A549, which demonstrated that the gene silencing capability of siRNA is retained after nebulization. This highlights the potential application of the acoustomicrofluidic device for the delivery of efficacious siRNA via inhalation, either for systemic delivery via the alveolar epithelium or local therapeutic delivery to the lung.     

Application of SH surface acoustic waves for measuring the viscosity of liquids in function of pressure and temperature

Viscosity measurements were carried out on triolein at pressures from atmospheric up to 650 MPa and in the temperature range from 10 °C to 40 °C using ultrasonic measuring setup. Bleustein–Gulyaev SH surface acoustic waves waveguides were used as viscosity sensors. Additionally, pressure changes occurring during phase transition have been measured over the same temperature range. Application of ultrasonic SH surface acoustic waves in the liquid viscosity measurements at high pressure has many advantages. It enables viscosity measurement during phase transitions and in the high-pressure range where the classical viscosity measurement methods cannot operate. Measurements of phase transition kinetics and viscosity of liquids at high pressures and various temperatures (isotherms) is a novelty. The knowledge of changes in viscosity in function of pressure and temperature can help to obtain a deeper insight into thermodynamic properties of liquids.     

Surface acoustic waves in 2D-phononic crystal of laminated pillars on a semi-infinite ZnO substrate

In this paper a phononic crystal of laminated pillars which are composed of two materials on a semi-infinite ZnO substrate is proposed. The unit cell can be regarded as a double-resonator model, which explicates the variation of band gaps. It is revealed that the band structure of the PC is highly influenced by the proportion of PZT-4 in laminated pillars. Besides, the high-frequency band gaps are the result of combined actions of the local resonance and the Bragg scattering, and the former dominates. Furthermore, the influences of the structural damping are investigated. It is observed that the bandgap-ratio remain unchanged and the band gaps translate to the right with isotropic structural loss factor increasing. Additionally, by introducing linear defects inside the laminated pillars, elastic energy at surface is strongly confined within defect pillars, and the coupling between defective pillars and SAW is governed by the physical parameter of resonators.