Properties of higher-order surface acoustic wave modes in Al(1-x)Sc(x)N / sapphire structures

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 and 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 , 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 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