High-Temperature Piezoelectric Crystals for Acoustic Wave Sensor Applications

In this review paper, nine different types of high-temperature piezoelectric crystals and their sensor applications are overviewed. The important materials' properties of these piezoelectric crystals including dielectric constant, elastic coefficients, piezoelectric coefficients, electromechanical coupling coefficients, and mechanical quality factor are discussed in detail. The determination methods of these physical properties are also presented. Moreover, the growth methods, structures, and properties of these piezoelectric crystals are summarized and compared. Of particular interest are langasite and oxyborate crystals, which exhibit no phase transitions prior to their melting points ~1500 °C and possess high electrical resistivity, piezoelectric coefficients, and mechanical quality factor at ultrahigh temperature (~1000 °C). Finally, some research results on surface acoustic wave (SAW) and bulk acoustic wave (BAW) sensors developed using this high-temperature piezoelectric crystals are discussed.