Characteristics of acoustic plate waves in potassium niobate (KNbO3) single crystal

This paper presents detailed theoretical investigation of three fundamental acoustic wave modes propagating in thin plates of single crystal potassium niobate. The wave velocity and Delta nu/nu, the fractional velocity change produced by electrical shorting of the surface, are calculated for all propagation directions on the surfaces of X-, Y-, and Z-cut plates. It is found that acoustic plate waves can provide extremely large values of electromechanical coupling coefficient. This property makes these waves very attractive for use in a variety of sensor and signal processing applications. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.