Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 23, 2026

Fabrication and Operation of Acoustofluidic Devices Supporting Bulk Acoustic Standing Waves for Sheathless Focusing of Particles
Published on: March 6, 2016
Opportunities for shear energy scaling in bulk acoustic wave resonators
Abstract:
An important energy loss contribution in bulk acoustic wave resonators is formed by so-called shear waves, which are transversal waves that propagate vertically through the devices with a horizontal motion. In this work, we report for the first time scaling of the shear-confined spots, i.e., spots containing a high concentration of shear wave displacement, controlled by the frame region width at the edge of the resonator. We also demonstrate a novel methodology to arrive at an optimum frame region width for spurious mode suppression and shear wave confinement. This methodology makes use of dispersion curves obtained from finite-element method (FEM) eigenfrequency simulations for arriving at an optimum frame region width. The frame region optimization is demonstrated for solidly mounted resonators employing several shear wave optimized reflector stacks. Finally, the FEM simulation results are compared with measurements for resonators with Ta2O5/ SiO2 stacks showing suppression of the spurious modes.
Related Concept Videos
Elastic Strain Energy for Shearing Stresses
Shearing Strain
Sound as Pressure Waves
The pressure fluctuation depends on the difference in displacements between the successive points in the...
Sound Waves: Resonance
Relation between Poisson's ratio, Modulus of Elasticity and Modulus of Rigidity
Singularity Functions for Shear

