Surface Acoustic Wave Absorber

In surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, reflections from the edges of the propagation plane must be suppressed to prevent distortion of the signal. Where the SAW device is designed for application in the 50-300 MHz range, it is known that the edge reflections of surface acoustic waves can easily be absorbed, suppressed or attenuated by applying a liquid (e.g. water), wax, (See Richardson et al., Applied Physics Letters 16, 2 pp. 82-84 (1970)), a masking tape, adhesive tape or scotch tape or glue to the edges of the SAW device. For a discussion of elastic surface waves, see Dransfeld et al., Physical Acoustics, Vol. 7, pp. 219-272, particularly 235, 259-263, Academic Press, New York, 1970. SAW devices operating at a lower frequency are being studied for application as a frequency discriminator and as an IF filter in the IF circuit of FM receivers. At this lower frequency, i.e. 10.7 MHz, the absorption of the surface acoustic waves by the above materials is inadequate. It is desirable to provide more suitable materials for attenuating the edge reflections of a surface acoustic wave device. The present invention provides such materials.

The present invention provides a surface acoustic wave device, designed for low frequency application, having thereon an epoxy resin or a powder-epoxy resin mixture for attenuating the edge reflections.

The single FIGURE shows, in plan view, a surface acoustic wave device having thereon a surface acoustic wave absorber of the present invention.

Surface acoustic wave devices can operate at different frequencies. An acoustic medium suitable for operation at 10.7 MHz is a 127.9.degree. rotated Y-cut X-propogation lithium niobate crystal. A SAW device 10 according to our invention is shown in the single FIGURE. A LiNbO.sub.3 acoustic medium 11 has a pair of interdigitated electrodes or transducers 12 having leads 13 on the surface. An absorber 14 is placed at least between the leads 13 in order to absorb surface acoustic waves. The absorber 14 can extend beyond the leads and reach the edges.

Various materials have been applied as the absorber 14. As can be seen in TABLE 1 below, which compares an epoxy resin of the present invention and previously used materials, the epoxy resin provides superior results. The previously used materials, e.g. sticky tape, water, paraffin wax, and overlayed glue, show an attenuation varying from 17 to 41.7 dB/cm (decibels per centimater) whereas the epoxy resin of the present invention has an attenuation of from 48 to 62 dB/cm.

The epoxy resin is preferably applied as a liquid epoxy resin, which is hardenable by a conventional hardener. The liquid epoxy resin may be prepared by using bisphenol-A and epichlorohydrin as the base. Suitable epoxy resins used in this invention include epoxy resins containing at least two terminal epoxy groups which are liquid at room temperature, such as, a bisphenol A-epichlorohydrin type, a side-chain type, an alicyclic type, a polmerized aliphatic ester type, a novolak type, a butyl glycidyl ether type, a poly alkylene type, a glyceryl tricpoxide type, and an alkylphenol type epoxy resin. Illustrative liquid epoxy resins, having at least the terminal epoxy groups, include expoxidized glycerin dialiphatic esters, 1,4-bis(2,3-epoxy-propoxy)benzene, 1,3-bis(2,3-epoxy-propoxy)benzene, 4,4'-bis (2,3-epoxy-propoxy)diphenyl ether, 1,8-bis(2,3-epoxy-propoxy)octane, 1,4-bis(2,3-epoxy-propoxy)cyclohexane, 4,4-bis(2-hydroxy-3,4'-epoxy-butoxy)- diphenyldimethyl methane, 1,3-bis(4,5-epoxy-pentoxy)5-chlorobenzene, 1,4-bis(3,4-epoxy-butoxy)-2-chlorocylcohexane, 1,3-bis(2-hydroxy-3,4-epoxy-butoxy)benzene and 1,4-bis-(2-hydroxy-4,5-epoxy-pentoxy)benzene. A mixture containing more than 70% by weight of a liquid epoxy resin and less than 30% by weight of a solid epoxy resin which is soluble in the liquid epoxy resin can also be used. Suitable epoxy hardeners include polyamines, amine adducts, polyamides, and the like.

The attenuation of SAW devices can be further increased by dispersing suitable powders into the epoxy resin. Attenuation of a surface acoustic wave varies with the amount or type of powder material mixed in with the epoxy resin. The attenuation with specific powders are shown in Table 2. The attenuation increases with an increasing quantity of powder. The ratio of cement powder to epoxy resin, however, should not be greater than above about 2.6:1 because the adhesive property of the mixture diminishes with the higher powder content.

The epoxy resin used in Table 2 was the "Hi-Super" (Cemedine Corporation) of Table 1. Other powders, such as tungsten oxide, and silver, have also been found to be suitable. The preferred powder is a hydraulic cement powder, particularly Portland cement, as this material is relatively inexpensive and produces good results. The particle size of the powder is not critical. It is preferred, however, that the particle size be small, i.e. in the range of from about 2-50 microns.

While lithium niobate has been illustrated hereinabove, the invention may also be used to attenuate SAW on other piezoelectric materials such as LiTaO.sub.3, and/or ceramic materials. Although suppression of reflectors when using an interdigitated transducer has been illustrated hereinabove, the invention may also be used to suppress or attenuate SAW reflections when other transducers are employed.