A General FEM Model for Analysis of Third-Order Nonlinearity in RF Surface Acoustic Wave Devices Based on Perturbation Theory

Baichuan Li; Qiaozhen Zhang; Xiangyong Zhao; Shaotao Zhi; Luyan Qiu; Sulei Fu; Weibiao Wang

doi:10.3390/mi13071116

A General FEM Model for Analysis of Third-Order Nonlinearity in RF Surface Acoustic Wave Devices Based on Perturbation Theory

Micromachines (Basel). 2022 Jul 15;13(7):1116. doi: 10.3390/mi13071116.

Authors

Baichuan Li¹, Qiaozhen Zhang¹, Xiangyong Zhao², Shaotao Zhi¹, Luyan Qiu¹, Sulei Fu³, Weibiao Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Information, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China.
² Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Material and Device, Department of Physics, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China.
³ The School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
⁴ Shoulder Electronics Limited, Wuxi 214124, China.

Abstract

This article presents a general-purpose model that enables efficient and accurate calculation of third-order nonlinear signals in surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. This model is based on piezoelectric constitutive equations combined with perturbation theory, which can be analyzed by full finite element method (FEM). For validation, third-order harmonic (H3) responses and intermodulation distortions (IMD3) in SAW resonators are simulated, and their calculation results fit well to experimental data in the literature. Then, the generation mechanisms of the third-order nonlinearity in SAW resonators are discussed. The dominant generation mechanisms for different nonlinear signals and the relation between electrode materials and H3 peak magnitude are revealed, which provides an important guideline for further nonlinear suppression.

Keywords: finite element method (FEM); generation mechanisms; nonlinearity; perturbation theory; surface acoustic wave (SAW).

Abstract

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