Simulations of Surface Acoustic Waves for Electric Field Sensing Applications

Electric field (EF) sensing is important in the power system and many other fields. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, which have been widely used in sensing various physical quantities, may have the potential to be a new kind of EF sensor with high performance. This work conducts numerical simulations of SAW devices for EF sensing applications. The velocity variations of SAW propagating in a piezoelectric half-space with different orientations under an EF bias are calculated in an iteration process based on the nonlinear theory of electroelasticity. The obtained electromechanical coefficients and space EF sensitivities help to choose the preferred substrates. The finite element method (FEM) is also used to analyze the response of SAW resonators and delay lines to the EF bias. The substrate used in this work is lithium niobate (LN) for its excellent piezoelectric properties. This work forms the basis of SAW EF sensors and provides guidance for the sensor designs.