High-temperature characterization of interdigitated transducers on gallium arsenide and surface acoustic wave analysis via interdigitated transducer modeling

Abstract

Interdigitated transducer devices may provide an advantageous platform to study stress-enhanced interfacial phenomena at elevated temperatures, and an appropriate device design requires a thorough understanding of temperature-dependent material properties. In this study, the scattering parameter response for a surface acoustic wave resonator is simulated using a frequency-domain finite element method from 20 to 177 °C. Experimental device measurements are taken for the interdigitated transducer device fabricated on semi-insulating GaAs 100 oriented in the 110 direction, and the results are in good agreement with the simulation. Surface acoustic wave analysis provides the magnitude of bulk stress values and surface displacement over the experimental temperature range produced by a standing surface acoustic wave. The computational analysis combined with experimental verification suggests that such devices, when optimized for the maximum magnitude, can produce strain levels that could influence chemical potential associated with crystalline growth, atomic diffusion, and catalytic reactions. The modeling results demonstrate an interdigitated transducer's potential as an experimental platform to study the impact of strain on temperature-sensitive surface and bulk phenomena in piezoelectric materials.