Design of Efficient Focused Surface Acoustic Wave Devices For Potential Microfluidic Applications.

Design of efficient focused surface acoustic wave devices for potential microfluidic applications
Subramanian K. Sankaranarayanan and Venkat R. Bhethanabotla Citation: J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 (2008); doi: 10.1063/1.2891577 View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2891577 View Table of Contents: http://jap.aip.org/resource/1/JAPIAU/v103/i6 Published by the AIP Publishing LLC.
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JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 103, 064518 2008
Design of efcient focused surface acoustic wave devices for potential microuidic applications
Subramanian K. R. S. Sankaranarayanan and Venkat R. Bhethanabotlaa
Sensors Research Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620, USA
Received 12 August 2007; accepted 6 January 2008; published online 31 March 2008 Focused interdigital transducers F-IDTs patterned on surfaces of piezoelectric substrates can be used to generate surface acoustic waves SAW with high intensity and high beam-width compression ratio. A three dimensional coupled eld nite element model of a focused SAW F-SAW device with interdigital transducers shaped as concentric circular arcs based on a YZ LiNbO3 substrate is developed in this study. This model was utilized to investigate the effect of geometric shape of transducers on the focusing properties of F-IDTs to identify the optimal design for potential microuidic applications. The transducer design parameters investigated in the current study include number of nger pairs, degree of arc, geometric focal length, and wavelength of F-SAW. The transient response of the device on application of impulse and ac electrical inputs at the transmitting FIDT ngers were utilized to deduce the device frequency response and propagation characteristics of F-SAWs, respectively. The inuence of applied input voltage on the propagation characteristics is also investigated. The insertion loss calculated for the various F-IDT designs was used to identify the optimal transducer conguration for sensing and microuidic applications. The focusing properties as well as the wave propagation characteristics for the various F-IDT designs were evaluated in terms of the amplitude eld and displacement contours generated in regions close to and at the focal point. Comparison with a conventional SAW device operating at megahertz frequency range and uniform IDT design is also made. Our study indicates that the focusing property of the device is signicantly inuenced by the geometric shape of the F-IDTs. The streaming phenomenon induced by F-SAW propagation, when in contact with a uid medium, is discussed in detail. The simulated amplitude elds generated using ac analysis for the various designs in conjunction with wave propagation parameters derived using perturbational techniques such as CampbellJones are utilized to calculate the streaming forces and velocities based on successive approximation technique applied to NavierStokes equation Nyborgs theory. The maximum streaming force and velocity are obtained at the focal point of the F-SAW device. The magnitude of the generated streaming force and induced streaming velocity are strongly inuenced by the transducer congurations. Based on the simulation results of this study, we provide guidelines for designing various F-IDTs to suite desired applications. F-SAW devices operating with higher applied input voltages and at higher frequencies, with optimal geometric length and larger degree of arc, are best suited for actuation and uid microtransport. 2008 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2891577
I. INTRODUCTION
Microuidics represents the science of designing, manufacturing, and formulating devices and processes that deal with volumes of uid on the order of picoliters to nanoliters. Surface acoustic wave SAW devices nd applications in microuidics and in actuation.15 In particular, SAWs can be used to actuate and process smallest amounts of uid on the planar surface of a piezoelectric chip.1,4 The small size of these pumps or devices can minimize the dead volume of uid in the system. This feature is especially useful when the reagents or products are precious or when the device needs to be cleaned or reused. Applications of microuidic systems include biological or chemical analysis and synthesis, micromixing, microdisa
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: venkat@eng.usf.edu.
pensing, and precision chemical dilution and mixing. In particular, microuidic devices can be used to obtain a variety of interesting measurements including molecular diffusion coefcients, uid viscosity, pH, chemical binding coefcients, and enzyme reaction kinetics.69 Other potential applications for microuidic devices include capillary electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, immunoassays, ow cytometry, sample injection of proteins for analysis via mass spectrometry, polymerase chain reaction PCR amplication, DNA analysis, cell manipulation, cell separation, cell patterning, and chemical gradient formation.1014 Several of these applications have utility for clinical diagnostics. The ow through a microuidic channel is characterized by Reynolds number Re= Lu / , where L is the relevant length scale, represents the uid density, and is the uid viscosity. The uid velocities u in these devices are typically in the range of m / s and, hence, the Reynolds numbers
2008 American Institute of Physics
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FIG. 1. Color online Schematic diagram of a transducer design for a conventional SAW device and b focused interdigitated transducer FIDT design for a F-SAW device.
involved in the eld of microuidics are usually below 100.4 This prevents turbulent ow and, hence, processes are essentially diffusion limited. For applications involving chemical and biological analysis, micromixing, dispensing, and actuation, the device performance is determined by its ability to effectively generate high enough uid velocity in a small channel or chamber.15 High frequency acoustic waves, however, can circumvent such difculties. SAW devices used for pumping and actuation purposes rely on the acoustic streaming phenomenon induced by the interaction of high frequency ultrasonic waves with the uid medium.9 At rst, the periodic wave motion might seem to be of little use for uid manipulation. However, the inertial nonlinearity can rectify oscillatory uid motion resulting in a time-averaged ow called steady or acoustic streaming, as shown by Rayleigh 1884. Details of the ultrasonic radiation mechanism leading to streaming induced ows can be found in Ref. 16. Most research efforts have focused on methods to increase the acoustic streaming phenomenon, thereby increasing the efciency of ultrasonic microtransport. The SAW induced streaming phenomenon depends mainly on generation and propagation characteristics of the acoustic waves as well as the coupling of these ultrasonic acoustic waves with the uid medium. The wave propagation characteristics are in turn affected by several device design parameters such as applied input voltage, the device frequency, transducer geometry, as well as uid properties such as density and viscosity. Optimization of these parameters to maximize the SAW streaming phenomenon is necessary to realize its potential microuidic applications. In this work, we focus on the effect of device design parameters on the surface acoustic wave propagation and qualitatively discuss the implications of the same on the streaming induced ows. Our previous experimental and theoretical work has shown that the SAW streaming phenomenon is strongly affected by wave propagation characteristics which are primarily dependent on the crystallographic orientation as well as the transducer design and geometry.17,18 Recent studies have indicated that SAW devices with focused interdigital transducers can be used to excite waves with high intensity, high beam-width compression ratio, and small localized area.1922 These high amplitude waves can be utilized to increase the induced streaming velocities to facilitate micromixing and microtransport. Similarly, acoustically focused two dimensional micromachined microdroplet ejector arrays fabricated
on piezoelectric substrates were able to achieve formation of focal point by leaky SAWs.1 This allowed for controlled generation and ejection of picoliter droplets for spinless photoresist deposition. Several other applications might exist in the multidisciplinary areas involving physics, chemistry, engineering, and biotechnology, where the increased streaming achieved using focused SAW F-SAW is desirable. To explore the same, it is necessary to gain a complete understanding of the generation and propagation characteristics of focused surface acoustic waves. In the present work, we evaluate the design and performance of one such potential microuidic surface acoustic wave device, based on concentric circular arc fabricated on a LiNbO3 substrate, by analyzing the wave generation and propagation characteristics for various focused interdigital transducer congurations in devices operating at megahertz frequencies. We develop coupled eld nite element structural models to investigate the dependence of acoustic wave generation and propagation characteristics on the various transducer congurations in F-SAW devices. The transient response of the model to various electrical inputs is used to identify the focused interdigital transducer F-IDT conguration that would allow for enhanced streaming and increased microtransport. The generated displacement proles obtained at the receiving transducer port as well as other locations are used in conjunction with wave propagation parameters derived from perturbational models to calculate streaming forces and velocities based on successive approximation theory applied to NavierStokes equation. The ndings are used to identify the optimum transducer conguration for potential biosensing and microuidic applications. The details are discussed in subsequent sections.
II. SURFACE ACOUSTIC WAVE DEVICE DESIGN
Surface acoustic waves are generated by the application of an alternating voltage signal to interdigital transducers patterned on a piezoelectric substrate.23 The phase velocity of the generated wave depends on the material properties of the waveguide, the piezoelectric and electrodes, as well as on the geometric shape of the electrode. The IDT geometry dictates the wavelength of the excited wave and, therefore, the center frequency of the device Fig. 1a. Modications to the transducer geometry can result in signicant changes in the acoustic wave propagation characteristics. In this work,
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TABLE I. Design parameters of different focused SAW transducers simulated in this work. Number of nger pairs N p 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 Geometric focal length f L in m 45 45 45 85 125 45 45 45 45
work and used to identify the effect of the transducer design parameters on the focusing property of F-SAW device. These details are discussed in subsequent sections.
III. COMPUTATIONAL DETAILS
F-SAW design parameters Design Design Design Design Design Design Design Design Design 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Degree of arc D a 120 120 120 120 120 90 60 60 60
Wavelength in m 40 60 80 40 40 40 40 40 40
The propagation of acoustic waves in piezoelectric materials is governed by the mechanical equations of motion and Maxwells equations for electrical behavior.23,24 The constitutive equations of piezoelectric media in linear range coupling the two are given by25
t Tij = cE ijklSkl ekijEk ,
3.1 3.2
Di = eiklSkl + S ikEk .
we model the acoustic wave generation and propagation resulting from the use of concentrically oriented interdigital transducer ngers on the surface of a piezoelectric substrate. An illustration of a F-SAW device constructed using pairs of FIDTs based on concentric circular arcs is shown in Fig. 1b. The F-IDTs are characterized by design parameters such as degree of arc Da, geometric focal length f L, and the wavelength . The effect of variation of these parameters on the acoustic wave propagation characteristics is presented in this work. The wave modes that are generated for each of the transducer designs are evaluated using three dimensional 3D nite element transient analysis for various applied electrical input conditions at the transmitter IDT ngers. The simulated displacement and voltage waveforms obtained at the output transducer and at different locations along the delay path are analyzed to deduce the dependence of the acoustic wave propagation characteristics on the device design parameters. The amplitudes of the SAWs depend on the applied voltage input and frequency as well as device design characteristics and are typically in the nanometer range.23 SAWs such as Rayleigh waves are generated in piezoelectric devices based on LiNbO3 with a conventional IDT design and have a displacement component normal to the propagation direction. When in contact with a liquid, they tend to couple strongly with the liquid and leak ultrasonic power into the uid in the form of acoustic waves called leaky SAWs. The leaky SAWs decay exponentially with distance from the source. The SAW interaction with the uid creates a net pressure gradient in the direction of sound propagation in the uid which leads to an internal, acoustically induced streaming phenomenon. SAW induced streaming nds applications in various processes ranging from micromixing, surface reactions, sonic cleaning, to biological detection among several others. Altering the transducer electrode design from linear to circular causes the acoustic energy of the SAW device to be focused. This results in larger amplitude waves and, correspondingly, larger streaming velocities are generated. Attempts to identify transducer designs which would increase the acoustic wave coupling with the uid media and maximize the induced streaming phenomenon are made using structural 3D nite element models. In particular, the transducer designs listed in Table I are simulated in the present
In the above equations, Tij represent the components of stress, cE ijkl the elastic constant for constant electric eld, Skl the strain, Ek the electric eld intensity, Di the electric displacement, etkij the piezoelectric constant, and S ik the permittivity for constant strain. The acoustic wave propagation velocity is ve orders of magnitude smaller than that of electromagnetic waves. Therefore, the quasistatic assumptions help reduce Maxwells equation to Di / xi = 0 and Ei = / xi, where represents the electric potential. The components of strain are dened by Sij = 1 ui u j + . 2 x j xi
3.3
The equation of motion in the absence of internal body forces is given as
2u i Tij 2 = 0, t x j
3.4
where is the density and ui represent the components of displacement. Substituting and rearranging the above set of equations leads to a system of four coupled wave equations for the electric potential and the three component of displacement in piezoelectric materials which are solved for the piezoelectric substrate or the solid domain,
2 2 2u i E uk + ekij = 0, 2 + cijkl t x jxl x k x j
3.5
eikl
2u k 2 S = 0. ik x i x l x i x j
3.6
These coupled wave equations can be solved for generating displacement proles and voltages at each element/node using the nite element method.
IV. MODEL PARAMETERS
A three dimensional nite element model was developed in the present study. A micron-sized piezoelectric substrate with dimensions of 800 m propagation length 500 m depth 400 m width was simulated to gain insights into the wave propagation characteristics in F-SAW as well as conventional SAW devices. In most designs, three IDT nger pairs for the input port were dened at the surface of Y -cut, Z-propagating LiNbO3 substrate. The ngers were dened
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with periodicity of 40, 60, and 80 m for simulating F-SAW devices with varying wavelengths. Eight-node quadrilateral coupled eld solid elements were used to model the solid piezoelectric domain. The IDT ngers were modeled as massless conductors and represented by a set of nodes coupled by voltage degrees of freedom DOF. A total of approximately 150 000 elements more than 250 000 nodes were generated. The model was created to ensure higher node density at the surface and throughout the middle of the device to study the different modes of surface acoustic waves and the use of eight-node coupled eld solid elements with three DOF ensured the same. Three DOFs provided the displacements in the longitudinal z, normal y , and the shear horizontal z directions and a fourth for the voltage. The transient response of the F-SAW devices was simulated and used to identify conditions which would allow for enhanced ultrasonic microtransport.
A. Structure excitation
V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The center frequency of SAW devices simulated in this work is in the range of 50 100 MHz. Hence, the structure was simulated for a total of 200 ns, with a time step of 0.5 ns. This enabled precise determination of the device frequency operating in the megahertz range. The excitation of the piezoelectric solid was provided by applying a time varying voltage signal with varying peak values and frequencies equivalent to the device center frequency on the transmitter IDT ngers of the F-SAW devices, as shown in Fig. 2. Two kinds of analysis were carried out for each of the F-SAW designs: 1 An impulse input of 100 V over 1 ns is applied to study the frequency response of the device and 2 ac analysis with a 5 V peak-peak input and 100 MHz frequency to study the wave propagation characteristics. A high input voltage impulse ensured that the amplitude of the acoustic wave impulse sampled at the output transducer ngers was sufciently large enabling clear distinction from any possible interference arising from edge reections. The applied voltage values chosen for ac analysis correspond to those used in experimental investigations.17,4,38
Using a 3D transient coupled eld nite element model, the effect of transducer design parameters such as degree of arc Da, geometric focal length f L, wavelength , as well as number of F-IDT nger pairs as listed in Table I on the propagation characteristics voltage and surface normal, longitudinal, and shear horizontal displacement proles of F-SAW devices was investigated in the present work. Additionally, the effect of applied input voltages on the displacement waveforms along the F-SAW delay path was simulated. The transient response to an applied voltage impulse was used to calculate the center frequency of the F-SAW device and identify the propagation losses associated with each of the F-IDT designs. Analysis of particle displacements into the substrate depth was utilized to determine the acoustic energy connement for the various F-IDT designs. The simulated frequency response as well as wave propagation characteristics obtained for an F-SAW are also compared with a conventional SAW device with similar design parameters. The details are presented in the following sections.
A. Frequency response analysis
The frequency response of the F-SAW device is necessary in most of their applications, such as lters, sensors, actuators, detectors, etc.23 Although SAW devices with focused interdigital transducers have been studied for several years, the models required to calculate the frequency response are very limited.2628 In case of F-SAW devices, second order effects of SAW propagation such as SAW diffraction, refraction, and beam steering are much stronger than in the conventional SAW device and deeply inuence the obtained frequency response.19,29 Most of the simpler models are based on perturbational approach and are unable to account for such effects. Therefore, a simulation model such as the nite element technique which considers these second order effects is needed to accurately calculate the frequency response of an F-SAW device.
FIG. 2. Color online F-SAW device a meshed structure. b Applied input voltage prole for a 100 MHz SAW device.
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FIG. 3. Color online Simulated frequency responses of F-SAW devices: a design 1, b design 2, c and design 3. Designs 1, 2, and 3 correspond to F-SAW devices with F-IDTs having similar degree of arc Da = 120 and geometric focal length f L = 45 m, but varying wavelengths i.e., 40, 60, and 80 m, respectively.
To calculate the frequency response of the F-SAW device using the developed nite element model, an input impulse signal of 10 V is applied at the transmission electrode. Three to ve IDT ngers at each port were dened with the nodes coupled to 0 V, while the same number of output IDT ngers was coupled separately. The impulse function represented above is applied to the remaining input IDT ngers, and the average voltage proles calculated at the output IDT ngers were used to derive the frequency response of the F-SAW device. The simulation is then performed for 100 ns duration with a time step Ts of approximately 1 ns. The sampling interval 1 ns in our case is typically chosen as the smallest frequency which the system can resolve using Fourier transform. The transient response of the F-SAW device to the applied impulse voltage input is then obtained in terms of time varying output voltage prole at the set of nodes representing the output F-IDT ngers. Then, the frequency response of a F-SAW device H f can be obtained from its impulse response ht by taking the Fourier transform of the voltage data sampled at the output transducer.30,31
H f =
hte2 ftdt .
5.1
The power spectrum can then be calculated from the known frequency domain data as follows: Sxx f = H f H* f = H f 2 , 5.2
where, * represents the complex conjugate of H f . The power spectrum was scaled with respect to the number of sampled data points. The corresponding magnitude of the obtained signal is converted into decibels insertion loss using the following equation and represents the insertion loss corresponding to the given frequency: Insertion loss = 20 log10Sxx f . 5.3
These features are represented as frequency response plots shown in Figs. 36. The calculated insertion losses associated with each of the transducer designs are listed in Table I and used to identify the applicability of the various designs in the areas of microuidics and sensing.
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FIG. 4. Color online Simulated frequency response of F-SAW devices with transducer congurations having varying geometric focal length: a design 1, b design 4, and c design 5. Designs 1, 4, and 5 correspond to F-SAW devices with F-IDTs having similar degree of arc Da = 120 and wavelength = 40 m, but varying geometric focal length f L, i.e., 45, 85, and 125 m, respectively.
1. Effect of wavelength
To investigate the effect of acoustic wavelength on the propagation characteristics of F-SAWs, we simulated F-SAW devices with varying IDT nger spacing, i.e., 10, 15, and 20 m. Typically, the SAW device operational frequency is given by v / 4 f , where v is the velocity of the acoustic wave traveling along any particular crystallographic direction in the LiNbO3 substrate and f is the nger spacing. Therefore, the spacing between electrodes was modied to simulate F-SAW devices operating in different frequency ranges and generating focused acoustic waves with varying wavelengths. The smallest attenuation is attained when the input excitation frequency matches the center frequency of the device. To identify the center frequency for subsequent ac analysis, an impulse input of 100 V was applied to the transmitter ngers. The frequency response obtained for the three designs with varying IDT nger spacing is shown in Fig. 3. The calculated center frequencies for the three cases are listed in Table II. It can be seen that the center frequencies for 10, 15, and 20 m F-IDT nger spacings correspond to 100, 75, and 55 MHz, respectively.
The insertion losses corresponding to the three designs are also listed in Table II. We nd that F-SAW devices operating at lower frequencies show higher propagation losses as compared to those operating at higher frequencies. This behavior is different from that seen in conventional SAW devices, in which the higher frequency devices have higher propagation losses. It is also worth noting that in the F-SAW devices operating at 55 and 75 MHz, the frequency response appears to show signicant bulk acoustic wave BAW interference at the high frequency end of the device passband. It is, however, also possible that the high frequency signal obtained at 150 MHz is a result of electromagnetic feedthrough effect. The BAW velocity in YZ LiNbO3 is 7220 m / s and, hence, it takes approximately 12 ns for the wave to travel the delay-line distance of 45 m between the input and output electrodes. The electromagnetic feedthrough, on the other hand, is attributed to the initial signal which occurs mostly within the rst few nanoseconds. Our analysis of the frequency response obtained without the electromagnetic feedthrough effect, i.e., time domain signal picked up beyond 12 ns, indicated that the high intensity
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FIG. 5. Color online Simulated frequency response of F-SAW devices with transducer congurations having varying degrees of arc: a design 1, b design 6, and c design 7. Designs 1, 6, and 7 correspond to F-SAW devices with F-IDTs having similar geometric focal length f L = 45 m and wavelength = 40 m, but varying degree of arcs Da i.e., 120, 90, and 60, respectively.
signal still existed and is therefore a result of BAW interference. Although the disappearance of the BAW signal in the 100 MHz F-SAW device is unclear, it is evident that the higher propagation losses associated with the 55 and 70 MHz devices, as shown in Table II, are due to BAW interference.
Based on these simulation ndings, it appears that the 100 MHz frequency F-SAW device with lesser insertion loss is more suitable for applications involving microuidics and sensing. Therefore, in the subsequent subsections, we compare the variations of geometric focal length and the degree of arc of F-IDT for the device operating at 100 MHz.
2. Effect of geometric focal length FL
To investigate the effect of geometric focal length on the frequency response of the F-SAW device, we simulated devices with the same degree of arc of 120 and nger spacing of 10 m, but different focal lengths of 45, 85, and 125 m. The simulated frequency response for the different device
TABLE II. Calculated center frequencies and insertion losses for three designs with varying nger spacing. F-SAW transducer design Design 1 Design 2 Design 3 Center frequency MHz 100 70 55 Insertion loss dB 9.5 11.6 11.9
Wavelength 40 60 80
FIG. 6. Color online Simulated frequency response of F-SAW devices with transducer congurations having varying number of F-IDT ngers.
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TABLE III. Calculated insertion loss for F-IDTs with varying focal length. Geometric focal length f L in m 45 85 125
F-SAW transducer design Design 1 Design 4 Design 5
Insertion loss dB 9.5 9.2 13.9
Degree of arc 120 90 60
designs is shown in Fig. 4. It can be seen that the center frequency of the devices is unaffected by changes in the focal length and depends primarily on the F-IDT nger spacing. The calculated insertion losses corresponding to the various geometric lengths are summarized in Table III. As expected, the F-SAW devices with longer focal length show increased insertion loss. The higher propagation losses are attributed to second order effects arising from substrate anisotropy such as SAW diffraction, refraction, and beam steering which are stronger in F-SAW devices in comparison to conventional SAW ones, as has been shown in one of our investigations.29 The calculated insertion loss shows little change for focal length variation from 45 to 85 m. However, it increases signicantly from approximately 9.2 to 13.9 dB when the focal length changes from 85 to 125 m. It is likely that the insertion loss shows a nonlinear dependence on geometric focal length, although more simulations are needed to conrm the same. This implies that, beyond a certain optimal focal length, the propagation losses are signicantly higher. F-SAW devices, beyond the optimal focal length, with higher insertion losses are unsuitable for sensing applications and might nd applications primarily in actuation, whereas those within the optimal focal length might be suitable for both sensing and actuation. The localized amplitude variations in the focal region for each of the three designs are required to substantiate the above arguments. This and other details of the propagation characteristics for the three designs are discussed in the ac analysis in a subsequent subsection.
3. Effect of degree of arc
The effect of degree of arc of the F-IDTs on the frequency response of the F-SAW device is shown in Fig. 5. The simulated devices shown in Fig. 5 have the degree of arc varying from 120 for design 1 to 60for design 7. The increase in the degree of arc of an F-IDT does not change the passband width of the device. However, there exist signicant differences in the insertion loss of the device as listed in Table IV. For smaller degree of arc such as 60, the insertion losses are signicantly reduced 3.8 dB. However, if the degree of arc is excessively large, then the insertion loss becomes larger, for example, it is 9.5 dB for a 120 arc. An increase in the degree of arc of F-IDTs results in an increase in SAW diffraction which results from the high anisotropy of the piezoelectric substrate. This typically occurs when the propagation direction is not along one of the pure-mode axes of the crystal, but at an angle with respect to it. In such cases, as in an F-SAW device with the transducers based on concentric circular arcs, the acoustic group velocity will
propagate off at angle with respect to the phase velocity. The higher the degree of arc, the higher would be the SAW diffraction effect and hence greater would be the insertion loss, as seen in Fig. 5. It is expected that an increase in the degree of arc of the FIDTs might lead to better focusing property with the amplitude eld possibly reaching a focal point. This can be useful to build devices that are more suitable as actuators in microuidic applications. However, as brought out earlier, F-SAW devices with higher propagation losses are not best suited for sensing applications. Hence, it is likely that F-SAW devices with smaller degree of arc and lower insertion losses are more qualied to be applied as sensors or lters. This might imply that standard nonfocusing IDTs which represent a special case of F-SAWs with Da = 0 are best suited for sensing applications. However, our simulation study indicates that while the insertion losses of F-SAW devices with smaller degree of arc are higher than those of standard nonfocusing IDTs, the corresponding wave amplitudes in the focal region are also signicantly higher for F-IDTs with smaller arcs when compared to standard nonfocusing IDTs. Therefore, it appears that there exists an optimum F-IDT design with degree of arc between Da = 0 and 60 which might be best suited for sensing applications. Identication of the optimum sensor design requires correlation of device sensitivity with the extracted simulation data and is beyond the scope of the current work. Instead, the main focus of the current work is to identify F-IDT designs which are best suited for microuidic applications and geometric parameters which could maximize streaming forces and velocities and can thus be used effectively for actuation and droplet dispensing applications. A detailed ac analysis of the propagation characteristics of F-SAW devices with varying degrees of arc is presented in a subsequent section.
4. Effect of number of nger pairs
To simulate the effect of number of F-IDT nger pairs on the frequency response of the F-SAW device, we utilized design 7 with three F-IDT nger pairs as the base case. The number of F-IDT ngers was subsequently increased to four and ve and the results are shown in Fig. 6. We nd that the passband width becomes narrower with an increase in the number of nger pairs while the insertion loss of the devices becomes smaller. It has been reported by Wu et al. that, for large enough number of nger pairs 120, the insertion loss of the F-SAW device does not decrease any further with increase of this number. However, the increase in nger pairs also increases the size of the device. As a result, it is neces-
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FIG. 7. Color online Simulated acoustic wave propagation in an F-SAW device. The parameters correspond to those of design 4. Design 4 corresponds to F-SAW device with F-IDTs having degree of arc Da = 120 , geometric focal length f L = 85 m, and wavelength = 40 m.
sary to optimize the number of F-IDT nger pairs in an F-SAW device according to the required pass-band and insertion loss. The simulation model developed by Wu et al.19 was based on effective permittivity approach and perturbation theory. In the present case, although more robust, the nite element FE simulations involving larger number of nger pairs led to a considerable increase in the number of elements to model the F-SAW device and leading to a signicant increase in the simulation time. The computationally intensive nature of the FE model makes it difcult to simulate F-SAW having increased number of nger pairs. These and other limitations of the FE model are discussed in a separate investigation.32
B. ac response analysis
ac analysis for the various F-IDT designs considered in the above section was carried out to investigate the focusing property as well as understand the propagation characteristics of F-SAWs. The simulated displacement contours showing F-SAW propagation along the substrate surface for the ac analysis of design 4 are shown in Fig. 7. The focusing effect, which is clearly evident from Fig. 7, is analyzed for the various designs listed in Table I. The propagation of acoustic waves in the F-SAW device is evaluated in terms of the displacement waveforms in the surface normal, longitudinal, and shear horizontal directions at various locations along the delay path including the output transducer ngers. The voltage waveforms analyzed at the output transducer are used to gain insights into the extent of wave attenuation. The wave propagation into the depth of the substrate is analyzed to understand the acoustic energy connement as well as wave conversion into the bulk mode.
1. Effect of degree of arc Of F-IDT
causes an increase in the aperture width of the F-IDT ngers. The simulated amplitude eld obtained after the wave has stabilized after 40 ns is shown in Fig. 8. It can be clearly seen that the amplitudes for designs 1 and 6 attain a sharp maximum at regions close to the focal point, whereas those for design 7 are much broader and do not approach a focal point. The displacement amplitudes at the focal region decrease with degree of arc of the F-IDTs. The maximum in case of designs 6 and 1 i.e., with Da = 90 and 120 appears to be shifted away from the focal point. The deviation results from SAW diffraction and is attributed to the anisotropy of the piezoelectric substrate. The SAW diffraction effect increases with the degree of arc. As a result, the frequency response of devices with larger degrees of arc shows higher insertion loss. The snapshots obtained at the end of 70 ns of simulation time for the three F-IDT designs are shown in Fig. 9. The amplitude elds appear to converge to the focal point as the degree of arc increases from 60 to 120. Hence, it can be
ac analysis of F-SAW devices with varying degrees of arc of F-IDTs ranging from 120 to 60 was carried out to investigate the focusing property and propagation characteristics of F-SAWs. An increase in the degree of arc also
FIG. 8. Color online Simulated amplitude eld for F-SAWs with varying degrees of arc. Designs 1, 6, and 7 correspond to F-SAW devices with F-IDTs having similar geometric focal length f L = 45 m and wavelength = 40 m, but varying degree of arcs Da, i.e., 120, 90, and 60, respectively.
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FIG. 9. Color online Simulated displacement contours for F-SAW devices for a design 1, b design 6, and c design 7. Designs 1, 6, and 7 correspond to F-SAW devices with F-IDTs having similar geometric focal length f L = 45 m and wavelength = 40 m, but varying degree of arcs Da i.e., 120, 90, and 60, respectively.
observed that F-IDTs with larger degree of arc produce a smaller focal area. Therefore, the focusing property becomes better as we increase the degree of arc, with the amplitude eld approaching the focal point. For devices having sufciently larger degree of arc, i.e., greater than 90, it can be seen that the variations in the azimuthal direction are negligible, especially at regions near the focal point. As we move away from the focal region, i.e., distances greater than 4, variations in the azimuthal direction become signicant as seen from the displacement contours shown in Fig. 9. The acoustic wave propagation characteristics in devices having F-IDTs with smaller degree of arc approach that of a conventional SAW device. At longer simulation times, wave reections from the edge of the substrates are also captured by these coupled eld nite element models. We further analyze the displacement proles along the depth of the piezoelectric substrate for a section cut through the region close to the focal point of the F-SAW device, as shown in Fig. 10. Insights into the acoustic energy connement at regions near the focal point and substrate surface can be obtained using Fig. 10. The waves are conned within one to two wavelengths from the device surface. The acoustic
intensity rapidly attenuates with depth into the device surface for the three designs shown. However, we nd higher acoustic wave penetration into the substrate surface for F-SAW devices having larger degree of arc. As brought out earlier, the displacement amplitudes are higher for devices having F-IDTs with larger degrees of arc. Based on the ndings of the ac and impulse analysis, it appears difcult to design F-SAW devices having degree of arc that results in best possible focusing properties and lowest insertion loss at the same time. Among the various simulated designs, F-IDTs with Da = 90 appears to be the optimum transducer conguration for use in both microuidic and sensing applications. On the other hand, FIDTs with Da = 120 have better focusing property, but higher insertion loss and are most suitable for use in actuation or excitation. FIDTs with Da = 60 have moderate focusing property, but smaller insertion loss and hence are most suitable for sensing applications. Furthermore, comparison of propagation characteristics of an F-SAW device design 1 with a conventional SAW device having uniform transducer ngers can also be carried out. In Ref. 29, we simulated a 100 MHz conventional SAW
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FIG. 10. Color online Simulated displacement proles along the depth of the piezoelectric substrate for a section cut through a region close to the center of delay path and normal to the propagation direction for a design 1, b design 6, and c design 7. Designs 1, 6, and 7 correspond to F-SAW devices with F-IDTs having similar geometric focal length f L = 45 m and wavelength = 40 m, but varying degree of arcs Da i.e., 120, 90, and 60, respectively.
device having a nger periodicity of 40 m, an aperture width of 200 m, and delay line equivalent to twice the focal length in design 1. An ac electrical input of 5 V peak-peak was applied at its transmitting ngers. We analyzed the displacement contours as well as the amplitude eld at various locations along the device delay line as well as at the output transducer ngers after the system had stabilized after 70 ns. Our simulation results indicated that the surface waves generated in a conventional SAW device with uniform ngers and aperture width has smaller amplitudes of particle displacement compared to F-SAWs. The analysis of particle displacement proles indicated that the depth penetration of the surface waves in a conventional SAW is smaller than that observed for a focused SAW device. Additionally, the localized variations observed near the focal point in an F-SAW device are absent in conventional SAWs. Our analysis of the voltage proles obtained at the receiving IDT ngers indicates the propagation losses in the conventional SAW are lower than that in F-SAW, owing to reduced second order effects such as SAW diffraction, refraction, and beam steering. The analysis of particle displacement proles along the substrate depth at various locations along the F-SAW delay path corroborated the above argument. We found that the conventional SAW devices are better suited for sensing applications than for actuation and microuidic application. On
the other hand, depending on the design specications, F-SAW devices can be applied for both sensing as well as actuation and microuidic applications.
2. Effect of geometric focal length
ac analysis, as brought out in the above subsection, of F-SAW devices with varying geometric focal length 45, 85, and 125 m was carried out to investigate its effect on the propagation characteristics of F-SAWs. The amplitude elds obtained near the focal point for the three designs are qualitatively similar. The simulated displacement contours obtained for the three designs, i.e., designs 1, 4, and 5 shown in Figs. 9a, 7, and 11, respectively, were analyzed to study the dependence of the focusing property on the geometric focal length. Our analysis indicated that the displacement amplitudes attain a maximum near the focal point, which increases with F-IDT focal length. At rst sight, this might appear counterintuitive as one would expect higher propagation losses and smaller displacement amplitudes for devices with longer geometric focal length. However, for the same degree of arc and number of nger pairs, the aperture width of the F-IDT ngers would increase with distance from the focal point Fig. 1b. Hence, the increased propagation losses are compensated by a corresponding increase in the aperture width and, therefore, higher displacement amplitudes as well as increased focusing property result in devices with in-
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FIG. 11. Color online Simulated displacement contours for design 5, i.e., F-SAW device having F-IDTs with wavelength = 40 m, focal length f L = 125 m, and degree of arc Da = 120 .
creased geometric focal length. For the same reason, our analysis of displacement proles along the depth of the substrate for a section cut through the focal point also indicated higher acoustic energy penetration for F-SAW devices having longer geometric focal length. Although the current simulations suggest that longer focal lengths might be needed typically 20 for the amplitude eld to approach a concise focal point, the scale of the device would also increase signicantly, making the simulation computationally intensive. This, and other limitations of the nite element simulations, can be found in Ref. 32.
3. Effect of wavelength
ac analysis of F-SAW devices with varying F-IDT nger spacing was carried out to understand the effect of F-SAW wavelength on its propagation characteristics, in particular, the focusing property. An applied voltage of 5 V peak-peak with frequency determined from the frequency response shown in Fig. 3 was input at the transmitting F-IDTs. The amplitude elds obtained for the three designs are shown in Fig. 12. Although the F-SAW amplitude at the focal point is
not very different for the three designs, the distribution of the F-SAW amplitude eld shows signicant differences. Comparison of the peak amplitudes of the F-SAW crest at regions near the focal point for the three different wavelengths Fig. 12 suggests that the focusing effect is enhanced for devices with smaller wavelengths and higher frequency. The localized variations are more prominent in design 1, whereas design 3 appears to have a more uniform particle displacement near the focal point. The simulated displacement contours for designs 1, 2, and 3 obtained after the system has stabilized 70 ns is shown in Figs. 9a, 13a, and 13b, respectively. We nd that the scattering of the waves after the focal point reduces with increase in the wavelength and the amplitude eld becomes more uniform. The size of the focal area increases with the increase in F-SAW wavelength. For larger wavelengths, the amplitude eld has no concise focal point. Instead, the F-SAW propagates as a narrow, long, strong SAW beam, as shown in Fig. 13b. Our simulation results indicate that the focusing properties increase with decrease in the wavelength of the F-SAW. Additionally, F-SAW devices operating at higher frequencies or smaller wavelengths also incur smaller propagation losses. Hence, for both sensing and microuidic applications, devices operating at higher frequencies or generating F-SAWs with smaller wavelengths are preferred.
4. Effect of applied input voltage
FIG. 12. Color online Simulated amplitude elds for F-SAWs with varying wavelengths. Designs 1, 2, and 3 correspond to F-SAW devices with F-IDTs having similar degree of arc Da = 120 and geometric focal length f L = 45 m, but varying wavelengths , i.e., 40, 60, and 80 m, respectively.
The simulations results reported above for the various F-IDT designs were obtained for an applied ac electrical input of 5 V peak-peak at the transmitter F-IDT ngers. To investigate the effect of voltage intensity on the propagation characteristics of the wave, we simulated an F-SAW device with transducer design parameters corresponding to design 1 and operating at 100 MHz, but with varying applied input voltages of 5, 10, 20, and 30 V peak-peak. Our simulation results indicated that similar wave propagation characteristics and displacement contours, but with varying wave amplitudes, are generated for the various applied power inputs. As brought out earlier, the maximum amplitudes were obtained at the focal point of the F-SAW device. The ampli-
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FIG. 13. Color online Simulated displacement contours for a design 2 and b design 3; i.e., F-SAW device having F-IDTs with similar degree of arc Da = 120 and geometric focal length f L = 45 m, but with varying wavelengths of 60 and 80 m, respectively.
tudes of the wave generated at the focal point in the F-SAW device for the various simulated voltage inputs are shown in Fig. 14. We nd that the amplitude of the generated focused wave varies linearly with the applied input voltage. Similar linear variation was observed theoretically for conventional SAW devices simulated in our previous investigations and was also reported experimentally by Chono et al. for SAW devices operating at 50 MHz frequency. The SAW amplitudes in these experiments were measured using optical methods for varying input voltages.9 When in contact with the uid medium, the increased wave amplitudes are expected to result in enhanced streaming forces and increased streaming velocities. The effect of these amplitude variations in the F-SAW device on the induced streaming force and the streaming velocities for the various transducer congurations and applied electrical input is discussed in the next subsection.
C. F-SAW induced streaming
lated in the present work. Specically, the streaming force that is induced by the F-SAW devices when in contact with the uid medium as well as the induced streaming velocities are derived using the successive approximation technique applied to NavierStokes equation, i.e., Nyborgs theory.16 The amplitude eld generated by the coupled eld nite element simulations are used in conjunction with the wave propagation parameters derived using perturbational techniques, such as that due to CampbellJones, to calculate the induced streaming velocities. The governing equations for acoustic streaming have been derived by Nyborg some time ago and are given by
2v 2 p 2 = F ,
F = 0 v 1 v 1 + v 1 v 1 .
5.4 5.5
In this section, we investigate the applicability of F-SAW devices with the various transducer designs simu-
In the above equations, is shear viscosity, 0 is the constant equilibrium density, v1 is the oscillatory particle velocity, v2 is the acoustic streaming velocity, p2 is the steady state dc pressure, F is the nonlinear driving force term, and the angular brackets denote the time average over sufciently large number of cycles.33,34 The particle displacements in a F-SAW device can be derived in terms of components along the principal cylindrical coordinates. The conversion function f from cylindrical to Cartesian coordinates is denoted by f x , y , z = r cos , r sin , h. The variations in the displacement component along the azimuthal direction are negligible as can be seen in the simulations, especially at regions near the
TABLE V. Leaky SAW velocity and attenuation coefcient calculated based on the CampbellJones method Refs. 35 and 36. Water loaded leaky SAW velocity 3931+ j68.1 3194+ j268.3 Leaky SAW wavenumber /m 2768 16409
Crystal Orientation 128 Y -X LiNbO3 Y -Z LiNbO3
Rayleigh wave velocity m/s 3994 3487
Attenuation coefcient 2.47 1.92
FIG. 14. Color online Effect of applied input voltage on the wave amplitudes at the focal point in an F-SAW device.
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FIG. 15. Color online a Calculated streaming force at the substrate surface and along the radius of the F-SAW device design 1 for an applied input voltage of 5 V peak-peak. b Second order streaming velocity prole generated in the same F-SAW device. The device operating frequency is approximately 100 MHz. Design 1 corresponds to F-SAW device with F-IDTs having degree of arc Da = 120 , geometric focal length f L = 45 m, and wavelength = 40 m.
focal point. Therefore, the wave propagation in the F-SAW device occurs primarily along the radial denoted by ux and surface normal uz directions and can be set in the following form to derive the components of leaky F-SAW when in contact with the liquid medium: ux = A exp jtexp jkLxexp kLz , uz = jA exp jtexp jkLxexp kLz, where 5.6
CampbellJones to solid-liquid structures assuming displacement and stress continuity at the interface.35,36 The oscillatory particle velocity v1 can be found using v = u / t. Substituting the rst order velocity into Eq. 5.5, we obtain the following components of streaming force Fs:
2 2 F x = 0 1 + 2 1A ki exp 2kix + 1kiz , 2 2 F z = 0 1 + 2 1A 1ki exp 2kix + 1kiz ,
5.8 5.9
= 1 v L/ v w .
2
5.7
A refers to the amplitude of F-SAW displacement, = 2 f is the angular frequency; vL and vw represent the leaky and longitudinal wave velocities, respectively. The leaky F-SAW propagates along the boundary and excites longitudinal waves into the liquid. The wave number kL for leaky F-SAW is a complex number, with the imaginary part accounting for the extent of energy dissipation into the uid medium. The wave number kL and velocity vL of the leaky F-SAW can be computed by extending the method of
where, = j1, and kL = kr + jki. The streaming force Fs can 2 be calculated by Fs = F2 x + Fz and is given as
3/2 2 2 F s = 0 1 + 2 1 A ki exp 2kix + 1kiz .
5.10
The force calculated above acts as a body force near the SAW-uid interface, with the direction being at the same angle as the radiation of leaky SAW. The decaying exponential factors in v1 limit the extent of force into the uid. This force, which varies as the square of the rst order velocity, in turn produces the second order velocity v2. Substitution of
TABLE VI. Calculation of streaming force and velocities, generated by F-SAW devices with different transducer congurations, based on Nyborgs theory. The FE simulations were carried out with three nger pairs of FIDT ngers. In calculating the streaming velocities and forces generated by F-SAW, we scaled the simulation amplitudes to match the number of FIDT nger pairs 150 that are used in an actual device. The attenuation constant = 1.92 and leaky SAW velocity v = 3194+ j268.3 for water loading were calculated using the CampbellJones method. Geometric focal length f L in m 45 45 45 85 125 45 45 F-SAW amplitude 46.2 44.9 48.0 66.5 70.5 41.3 38.4 Streaming velocity m / s 528.2 244.4 172.4 1100.0 1200.0 422.1 364.9
F-SAW Design parameters Design Design Design Design Design Design Design 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Degree of arc Da 120 120 120 120 120 90 60
Wavelength in m 40 60 80 40 40 40 40
Streaming force N / m3 1.4 109 4.5 108 2.5 108 2.9 109 3.3 109 1.1 109 9.6 108
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the above equation 5.10 into Eq. 5.4 would allow for predicting the acoustic streaming velocity induced as a result of SAW streaming. The leaky SAW velocities, wave numbers, attenuation factors, as well as the SAW streaming force calculated based on the above formulation for two different crystal orientations in a LiNbO3 substrate are summarized in Table V. The amplitudes of F-SAW required for the calculation of the streaming force shown in Fig. 15a are derived from the FE simulations. As seen in a previous section, the amplitude of the F-SAW is directly proportional to the number of nger pairs of the IDT. This was also seen in the experimental and theoretical investigation carried out by Wu et al.19,20 To facilitate comparisons with the actual devices that comprise of 150200 nger pairs of IDT, the simulated amplitude elds for the various transducer designs were scaled accordingly and are reported in Table VI. It can be seen from Fig. 15a that the streaming force attains a maximum at the focal point of the F-SAW device. If the generated momentum at the focal point is larger than the surface tension of the uid, then the F-SAW device can be used for droplet manipulation and ejection. The streaming force generated by the acoustic wave propagation on the F-SAW surface induces uid motion which can be utilized for microuidic applications. The extent of uid motion can be quantied in terms of streaming velocities obtained at various locations along the device surface. The rst order streaming velocity calculated on the basis of Eqs. 5.6 and 5.7 can be used to calculate the second order streaming velocity. LonguetHiggins have given the general expression for calculating the limiting value of the second order streaming velocity v2,37 U=
* j vm vm 81 exp 1 + jz 4 x
+ 31 + jexp 2z 1 .
5.11
In the above equation, only the real part is of physical signicance. U represents the tangential streaming velocity just outside the viscous boundary layer. vm is equal to v1x v0, where v1x is the x-directed rst order velocity and v0 is the x-directed boundary condition on the rst order velocity eld at the SAW interface. For z 1, the amplitude of the second order velocity obtained by substituting the rst order velocity obtained from Eq. 5.6 into Eq. 5.11 is given by
5 A 2 k i . U 4
5.12
The streaming velocity calculated above depends primarily on the wave amplitude and the excitation frequency. The viscous effects have been neglected and the density effects are implicitly accounted for through the leaky SAW number ki. The streaming velocity calculated using Eq. 5.12 for F-SAW device with design 1 transducer conguration is shown in Fig. 15b. The magnitude of the generated streaming velocity in design 1 is in the range of a few hundred m / s and attains a maximum at the focal point of the F-SAW device. The amplitude elds generated in other F-SAW devices with transducer designs listed in Table I are qualitatively similar and, hence, the induced streaming forces and veloci-
ties also vary qualitatively in the same manner as depicted in Figs. 15a and 15b, respectively. The exact streaming force and velocity calculated at the focal point for F-SAW devices with the various transducer congurations are listed in Table VI. The FE simulations in the present work were carried out with three nger pairs of FIDT ngers. In calculating the streaming velocities and forces generated by F-SAW, the simulation amplitudes were scaled to match the number of FIDT nger pairs 150 that are used in an actual device. Although the complex nature wave interactions with uid media makes it necessary to validate this approximation by use of uid-solid interaction models employing much larger number of nger pairs, this assumption was found to be valid by Wu et al. in their study of focused SAW devices.19,20 For the same applied input voltage of 5 V, the generated streaming velocities for the various designs are typically in mm/s range. This is larger than the streaming velocities which are reported for typical SAW devices.4,38 Several quantitative differences exist amongst the various FIDT designs. It can be seen that devices with higher operating frequencies such as design 1 generate larger streaming forces and higher streaming velocities in comparison to those at lower operating frequencies such as designs 2 and 3. Hence, it is preferred to utilize devices which can operate at the highest possible frequency for any piezoelectric substrate. These ndings suggest that high frequency F-SAW devices based on multilayered substrates involving a diamond layer in gigahertz range might be excellent choices for microuidic actuation applications. Comparison of Designs 1 and 4 indicates that the focusing effect and hence the generated streaming velocities increase signicantly when the focal length increases from 45 to 85 m. Upon further increase in focal length from 85 to 125 m, the increase is not as rapid. This indicates that an optimal focal length is required to attain higher streaming velocities at the focal point beyond which the increase is insignicant. More simulations of F-SAW devices with greater focal lengths are required to identify the optimal geometric focal length. Similarly, comparing designs 1, 6, and 7, we nd that F-SAW devices which have larger degrees of arc are able to focus better and thereby generate larger streaming forces. In the range of the degrees of arc of F-IDT simulated, the variation in the induced streaming velocities is approximately linear, although more simulations are needed to fully establish this behavior. However, the decrease in the focusing property with degree of arc of F-IDT is established with more certainty using the developed simulation model. Our previous investigation indicated that the generated streaming force at the focal point varies with the square of the applied input voltage. Hence, at higher applied voltage, the differences listed in Table VI would be much more signicant. Finally, based on the simulation ndings, it appears that higher applied input voltage in F-SAW devices which operate in the high frequency range, with an optimal focal length, and larger degree of arc is likely to be the best design for potential microuidic applications.
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VI. LIMITATIONS OF THE FINITE ELEMENT MODEL
The accurate modeling of focused SAW devices requires generation of a very ne mesh. Since it is critical that the nodal densities for the substrate simulated are at least on the order of 20 nodes per wavelength for the highest device frequency, the number of nodes required for the simulation of a 3D F-SAW device with the dimensions employed in the present study itself is extremely large. Additionally, the simulations are computationally intensive and time consuming, with the required CPU time increasing considerably with mesh size. The current study investigates acoustic wave propagation in F-SAW devices with three to ve IDT nger pairs. Increasing the number of IDT ngers to match those in an actual device 150 would require a signicant increase in the scale of the device simulated. The computationally intensive nature of the nite element method makes the simulation of such a device beyond the scope of the currently available computational resources. It should also be noted that acoustic wave reections from the substrate edges can arise if the simulations are carried for sufciently longer times. To overcome this limitation, it is essential to employ damping elements at the ends of the substrate. Although longer simulation times are necessary to attain a stable state, we nd that too long a simulation time results in wave reections causing instabilities to set in. A simulation time of 200 ns was found to be optimum for the substrate dimensions considered in the present study.
VII. CONCLUSIONS
A three dimensional coupled eld nite element FE model of F-SAW devices was developed in this work. The F-IDTs were modeled as concentric circular arcs patterned on the surface of YZ LiNbO3. The model was used to investigate the effect of geometric shape of transducers on the focusing property of F-IDTs. The effect of several F-IDT design parameters such as number of nger pairs, degree of arc, geometric focal length, the wavelength of F-SAW on its propagation characteristics, as well as focusing property was studied in detail. An impulse and ac electrical input was applied at the transmitting F-IDT ngers to evaluate the device frequency response and F-SAW propagation characteristics, respectively. The frequency of the simulated devices ranged from approximately 55 to 100 MHz. The displacement contours as well as the variations in amplitude eld at various locations around the focal region obtained in an ac analysis were used to evaluate the focusing property for the various transducer designs. The results indicate that the focusing property is signicantly inuenced by the geometric shape of the transducers. F-SAW devices with larger degree of arc of F-IDTs and operating at higher frequencies, i.e., generating waves with smaller wavelength, are needed to obtain better focusing. Also, there exists an optimal geometric focal length for the F-SAW devices which depends on a compromise between the focusing property and the associated insertion loss. Longer geometric focal length gave better focusing characteristics and increased insertion losses. The wavelength of F-SAWs also signicantly affected the focusing property. Larger wavelength F-SAWs generate
long, narrow, strong SAW beams, but the amplitude eld is unable to approach a precise focal point. Shorter wavelength F-SAWs which are generated in devices operating at higher frequencies are able to achieve the same. The streaming phenomenon induced by the propagation of F-SAWs, when in contact with the uid medium, is discussed in detail. The streaming forces and velocities calculated for the various transducer designs based on Nyborgs theory using the amplitude elds generated by FE simulations and wave propagation parameters derived using a perturbational approach were used to deduce their applicability for potential microuidic applications. The induced streaming forces and velocities attain a maximum at the focal point, with the exact magnitude dependent on the transducer design. The calculated streaming velocities agree well with those reported in previous experimental and theoretical studies. Based on the FE simulation results, we have attempted to identify transducer congurations that are best suited for sensing and microuidic applications. We nd that F-SAW devices operating at higher frequencies and with high applied input voltages, optimal geometric focal length, and larger degree of arc are best suited for actuation and microuidic applications, whereas F-SAW devices with shorter geometric focal length and smaller degree of arc of F-IDTs are better suited for sensing. Additionally, in comparison with the conventional SAW devices fabricated with uniform interdigital transducers, we nd that the focused SAW devices are more sensitive to variations in the focal area instead of the whole delay-line region. This makes them suitable for application requiring detection or manipulation of localized variations, such as those utilizing acousto-optic or acoustoelectric effects. The ndings of our study have laid the groundwork for further investigation into the propagation characteristics and focusing property of F-SAW devices fabricated on multilayered substrates and/or with more complicated transducer designs.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank Academic Computing and Engineering Computing at University of South Florida for providing computational facilities. The authors thank Samuel J. Ippolito and Glenn Matthews at RMIT, Melbourne, and Stefan Cular and Reetu Singh at USF for useful discussions. Funding for this work was provided by NSF-IGERT Grant No. DGE0221681, USF-IDRG, and the Department of Defense Contract No. W81XWH-05-1-0585.
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Design of Efficient Focused Surface Acoustic Wave Devices For Potential Microfluidic Applications.

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Design of efficient focused surface acoustic wave devices for potential microfluidic applications

Additional information on J. Appl. Phys.

JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 103, 064518 2008

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: venkat@eng.usf.edu.

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

Degree of arc D a 120 120 120 120 120 90 60 60 60

The equation of motion in the absence of internal body forces is given as

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Frequency response analysis

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

F-SAW transducer design Design 1 Design 4 Design 5

Insertion loss dB 9.5 9.2 13.9

Degree of arc 120 90 60

4. Effect of number of nger pairs

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

Crystal Orientation 128 Y -X LiNbO3 Y -Z LiNbO3

Rayleigh wave velocity m/s 3994 3487

Attenuation coefcient 2.47 1.92

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

Degree of arc Da 120 120 120 120 120 90 60

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

J. Appl. Phys. 103, 064518 2008

VI. LIMITATIONS OF THE FINITE ELEMENT MODEL

S. K. R. Sankaranarayanan and V. R. Bhethanabotla

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