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Title: Shear-horizontal surface acoustic wave phononic device with high density filling material for ultra-low power sensing applications

Abstract

Finite element simulations of a phononic shear-horizontal surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor based on ST 90°-X Quartz reveal a dramatic reduction in power consumption. The phononic sensor is realized by artificially structuring the delay path to form an acoustic meta-material comprised of a periodic microcavity array incorporating high-density materials such as tantalum or tungsten. Constructive interference of the scattered and secondary reflected waves at every microcavity interface leads to acoustic energy confinement in the high-density regions translating into reduced power loss. Tantalum filled cavities show the best performance while tungsten inclusions create a phononic bandgap. Based on our simulation results, SAW devices with tantalum filled microcavities were fabricated and shown to significantly decrease insertion loss. Our findings offer encouraging prospects for designing low power, highly sensitive portable biosensors.

Authors:
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22303874
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Applied Physics Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 104; Journal Issue: 25; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; CONFINEMENT; DENSITY; FINITE ELEMENT METHOD; INCLUSIONS; INTERFACES; INTERFERENCE; PERIODICITY; POWER LOSSES; SENSORS; SIMULATION; SOUND WAVES; SURFACES; TANTALUM; TUNGSTEN

Citation Formats

Richardson, M., Bhethanabotla, V. R., E-mail: bhethana@usf.edu, and Sankaranarayanan, S. K. R. S. Shear-horizontal surface acoustic wave phononic device with high density filling material for ultra-low power sensing applications. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4884655.
Richardson, M., Bhethanabotla, V. R., E-mail: bhethana@usf.edu, & Sankaranarayanan, S. K. R. S. Shear-horizontal surface acoustic wave phononic device with high density filling material for ultra-low power sensing applications. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4884655
Richardson, M., Bhethanabotla, V. R., E-mail: bhethana@usf.edu, and Sankaranarayanan, S. K. R. S. 2014. "Shear-horizontal surface acoustic wave phononic device with high density filling material for ultra-low power sensing applications". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4884655.
@article{osti_22303874,
title = {Shear-horizontal surface acoustic wave phononic device with high density filling material for ultra-low power sensing applications},
author = {Richardson, M. and Bhethanabotla, V. R., E-mail: bhethana@usf.edu and Sankaranarayanan, S. K. R. S.},
abstractNote = {Finite element simulations of a phononic shear-horizontal surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor based on ST 90°-X Quartz reveal a dramatic reduction in power consumption. The phononic sensor is realized by artificially structuring the delay path to form an acoustic meta-material comprised of a periodic microcavity array incorporating high-density materials such as tantalum or tungsten. Constructive interference of the scattered and secondary reflected waves at every microcavity interface leads to acoustic energy confinement in the high-density regions translating into reduced power loss. Tantalum filled cavities show the best performance while tungsten inclusions create a phononic bandgap. Based on our simulation results, SAW devices with tantalum filled microcavities were fabricated and shown to significantly decrease insertion loss. Our findings offer encouraging prospects for designing low power, highly sensitive portable biosensors.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4884655},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22303874}, journal = {Applied Physics Letters},
issn = {0003-6951},
number = 25,
volume = 104,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jun 23 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Mon Jun 23 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}