SAW impedance element filters for 5 GHz and beyond

New surface acoustic wave (SAW) impedance element filters operating in the 5 GHz range are designed, fabricated and characterized and preliminary results for devices operating in the 7.5-10 GHz regime are reported. The patterning is carried out using direct-writing electron-beam lithography and the lift-off technique. In parallel, reactive ion etching (RIE) experiments are attempted. For our 5 GHz filter having a -3 dB bandwidth of about 155 MHz, a minimum insertion loss of 3.0 dB and a ripple on the order of 0.5 dB in a 100 MHz passband are measured. For our first prototype 7.5 GHz filter, an insertion loss of 7.1 dB is obtained.