Arbitrarily oriented SAW gratings: network model and the coupling-of-modes description

A network model for surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) structures fabricated along arbitrary and hence nonsymmetric orientations, including natural single-phase unidirectional transducer (NSPUDT) directions, is described. From the predictions of this model for SAW gratings. the frequently used coupling of modes (COM) phenomenological description is evaluated. The network model consists of the usual sequence of mismatched transmission lines with susceptance loading at discontinuities to account for energy storage, plus a new additional reactive element calculated using a perturbation formula, to account for the asymmetry that exists for arbitrary orientations. The circuit elements are determined by geometrical and material parameters. It is demonstrated that the incremental COM description can be derived from the unit-cell-based network model, and analytical formulas quoted in the literature for the COM coefficients are compared with the values calculated from the ABCD network model description. An analytically tractable approximation for the network model is also described, from which rather simple explicit formulas for the COM coefficients that predict their dependence on material parameters and on frequency are derived. The analysis and numerical calculations indicate that these formulas may yield results that are valid over almost 30% relative bandwidths.