Development of a GaAs monolithic surface acoustic wave integrated circuit

An oscillator technology using surface acoustic wave (SAW) delay lines integrated with GaAs MESFET electronics has been developed for GaAs-based integrated microsensor applications. The oscillator consists of a two-port SAW delay line in a feedback loop with a four-stage GaAs MESFET amplifier. Oscillators with frequencies of 470, 350, and 200 MHz have been designed and fabricated. This oscillator technology is most suitable for sensor applications but can logically be extended to radio-frequency oscillator and filter applications by methods well known for other piezoelectric substrates.