Measurement and FEM/BEM simulation of transverse effects in SAW resonators on lithium tantalate

It is well known that transverse effects contribute significantly to the loss of SAW resonators on lithium tantalate. In particular, for frequencies above resonance, the surface wave is not guided inside the transducer and radiates into the busbars. In addition, because bulk modes can also be excited, scalar models are not sufficient to accurately predict transverse effects. It is also known that the layout of a SAW resonator (electrode gaps and dummy electrodes) has a strong impact on the transverse effects. In this paper, a periodic FEM/BEM model is presented and is used to simulate the transverse effects for various SAW resonator layouts. Test devices matching those simulated are fabricated and measured; the measured results are compared with the simulated results and show good agreement. By analyzing the dispersion curves produced from the FEM/BEM model in the different regions of the device, several frequency bands corresponding to different transverse behaviors are identified. These results are consistent with the elastic displacements, also computed by the FEM/BEM model. It is further shown that guided conditions in the gap between the transducer and the busbar occur for a frequency range above resonance. This result is in agreement with measurements showing that resonators with smaller gaps exhibit smaller spurious responses in their admittance.