Surface acoustic wave temperature properties in alpha-GeO2 crystal

Abstract

Abstract In this study, the surface acoustic wave (SAW) temperature properties in flux-grown α-GeO2 crystal are numerically investigated. It is shown that the SAW velocity temperature change substantially depends only on the temperature coefficient of three elastic constants: C66, C44 and C14 for crystal cuts and wave propagation directions, where SAW has high electromechanical coupling coefficient. The SAW temperature coefficient of delay (TCD) for these crystal cuts are in the range from -40 ppm /°C to -70 ppm /°C. In contrast to alpha-quartz, the surface wave TCD values are not equal to zero in Z-, Y- , and Z- rotated cuts of α-GeO2 single crystal. Its values are comparable in the magnitude with the surface wave TCD values in lithium tantalate. In the crystal grown from the melt, the interdigital transducer (IDT) conductance has two times larger amplitude than that in hydrothermally grown a-GeO2. The leaky acoustic wave excited by IDT on Z+120°-cut and wave propagation direction along the X-axis, has an electromechanical coupling coefficient 5 times less than that for surface wave.