Surface and Bulk Acoustic Wave Device Characterization
Surface and Bulk Acoustic Wave (SAW/BAW) devices are compact resonators and key building blocks in RF filters and sensors, ranging from everyday communication systems to advanced quantum technologies. Their performance hinges on detecting small resonance shifts with high precision, a task that traditional analog setups make complex and time-consuming. Zurich Instruments provides a streamlined solution with the SHFLI, GHFLI, and SHFSG+, enabling researchers to drive, sense, and track acoustic resonances in a software-controlled workflow.
Where Zurich Instruments Brings Value
Zurich Instruments brings value to SAW/BAW device characterization in five key areas:
- Precision resonance tracking – lock to the resonance to capture vanishingly small shifts in device behavior.
- Exploit sidebands – measure sidebands of the resonance to enable multi-tone feedback schemes for accurate linewidth and damping data in real time.
- Integrated workflows – perform open- and closed-loop measurements directly with built-in sweeper, PID, and spectrum analyzer tools, without extra electronics.
- Broad frequency coverage – cover the full spectrum of SAW and BAW devices, from DC to 8.5 GHz, using the GHFLI and SHFLI Lock-in Amplifiers.
- Simplified setups – replace complex analog chains with the SHFSG+ Signal Generator and the GHFLI and SHFLI Lock-in Amplifiers, integrating power splitting, phase shifting, and frequency coverage out of the box.
What are SAW Devices?
Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) devices comprise interdigitated transducers (IDTs) spaced across a piezoelectric substrate material. The electrode spacing defines the operational frequency range, enabling their use in sensing, filtering, resonating, and actuation applications. They are used as resonators, filters and sensors in myriad fields of engineering and science.
In addition, SAW devices can also be used for delay lines; a SAW delay line uses piezoelectric materials to convert electrical signals into mechanical waves that travel across a surface. These waves induce a time delay before conversion back into electrical form. Typically, two IDT electrodes are positioned apart, with delay time proportional to this distance and inversely proportional to wave velocity. Such devices are used in filters, resonators, and sensors. For instance, adding amorphous magnetic layers makes them sensitive to magnetic fields, enabling the detection of small magnetic signals.
What are BAW Devices?
Bulk acoustic wave (BAW) devices are piezoelectric resonators where an applied RF voltage excites longitudinal acoustic waves through the thickness of a thin film, yielding sharp microwave resonances. The electrodes are patterned on opposite sides of the piezoelectric layer, defining the active area. Thanks to high Q, compact size, and good power handling, they are used as RF filter, low‑phase‑noise oscillators and sensors where resonance shifts indicate the measurand.
Measurement Strategies
Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) and Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) devices, including resonators and delay lines, can be characterized using the GHFLI 1.8 GHz and SHFLI 8.5 GHz Lock-in Amplifiers, supporting both 2-port and 1-port measurements. With integrated sweeper for open loop measurements, and PID feedback controllers for closed-loop characterization, they provide a full characterization of your device without additional electronics.
LabOne software’s suite of tools enable simultaneous measurements in both the time and frequency domain; stream key parameters such as the resonance drift in real time while also running the spectrum analyzer to monitor the full spectral behavior.
Product Highlights
Benefits of Choosing Zurich Instruments
Studying acoustic waves on surfaces or in bulk opens new opportunities for sensing and quantum research. Traditional setups often rely on cumbersome analog hardware for splitting, shifting, and stabilizing signals. Zurich Instruments’ products replace these with integrated tools in a single instrument, supported by powerful LabOne software that streamlines setup, measurement, and analysis.
Application Resources
Explore resources to accelerate your SAW/BAW research:
- Application Pages – MEMS sensors, gyroscopes, impedance, and optically pumped magnetometers.
- Application Notes – Optomechanical mass sensing, MEMS gyroscope, noise reduction with parallel cross-correlation, Hall effect studies.
- Webinars – Learn best practices in sensor characterization with examples from the GHFLI and SHFLI.
- Blog posts – Coupling microwave and optical photons, magnetic field sensing with SAW delay line and GHz lock-in amplifiers. Extracting impedance parameters of a SAW resonator
- Customer Success Stories – Discover how Zurich Instruments' users boost their measurement outcomes.
What’s Your Application?
From prototype sensors to advanced industrial and quantum devices, Zurich Instruments provides the complete measurement toolkit for SAW and BAW characterization. Contact us to connect with an application specialist and discover how our instruments can accelerate your research.