Surface acoustic wave resonators on a ZnO-on-Si layered medium

The adaptation of surface acoustic wave resonator technology to a ZnO-on-Si layered medium is presented. Several distributed reflector schemes are considered, including shorted and isolated metallic strips, as well as grooves etched in the ZnO layer. In the case of etched groove reflectors, a first-order velocity perturbation arises due to the dispersive nature of the layered medium. Unique resonator design considerations result from the reflector array velocity and reflectivity characteristics. Transverse mode resonances are characterized and their effect on resonator response eliminated by a novel transducer design. A technique for temperature compensating the devices by use of a thermal SiO2 layer is discussed.