Acoustic Surface Waveguides and Comparisons with Optical Waveguides

An overview is presented first of the various types of waveguides for acoustic surface waves which have been studied theoretically and experimentally. Many of these waveguides resemble certain waveguiding structures proposed recently for use in integrated and fiber optics. The similarities and differences between corresponding waveguiding structures in the two different fields are then discussed from the standpoints of their properties and their mechanisms of operation.