Characterization of electrode material parameters

Rigorous SAW device analysis methods, such as FEM/SDA rely upon the accurate characterization of the elastic moduli and mass density for both the piezoelectric substrate as well as the materials comprising the devices´ thin film electrodes. As the values for the moduli and density of thin films may be significantly different than those for bulk materials, and vary with the deposition process, a means to accurately characterize the values for the elastic moduli and mass density for the thin film metallization is needed. To accomplish the goal of characterizing the moduli and mass density for a thin film metallization, an approach has been devised which is sensitive to the longitudinal and shear modulus, the thin film´s mass density, as well as the geometry of the SAW device´s electrodes.