The acoustical physical constants (elastic constant, piezoelectric constant, dielectric constant, and density) of commercial surface acoustic wave (SAW)-grade LiNbO(3) and LiTaO(3) single crystals were determined by measuring the bulk acoustic wave velocities, dielectric constants, and densities of many plate specimens prepared from the ingots. The maximum probable error in each constant was examined by considering the dependence of each constant on the measured acoustic velocities. By comparing the measured values of longitudinal velocities that were not used to determine the constants with the calculated values using the previously mentioned constants, we found that the differences between the measured and calculated values were 1 m/s or less for both LiNbO(3) and LiTaO(3) crystals. These results suggest that the acoustical physical constants determined in this paper can give the values of bulk acoustic wave velocities with four significant digits.

No abstract

We determined all the independent components of the acoustical physical constants (elastic constant, piezoelectric constant, dielectric constant, and density) of LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 crystals grown from the melts of three different starting materials with the Li2O contents set to 48.0, 48.5, and 49.0 mol %, and obtained the chemical composition dependences of the constants of each single crystal around the congruent composition. All the constants as well as the measured longitudinal, shear, and leaky surface acoustic wave (LSAW) velocities varied linearly with the composition ratios in the experimental range. The composition dependences of the LSAW velocities for the 128°YX-LiNbO3, X-112°Y-LiTaO3, and 36°YX-LiTaO3 substrates, previously obtained by line-focus-beam acoustic microscopy, were well matched with the calculated ones using the constants determined. Therefore the data of the composition dependences of the determined constants enable us to easily prepare the calibration lines for evaluating the crystals for any arbitrarily cut specimen surfaces, wave propagation directions, and modes by numerical calculations.

No abstract

Accurate measurements of bulk and leaky surface acoustic wave (LSAW) velocities of natural α-quartz crystal were carried out using the line-focus-beam and plane-wave ultrasonic material characterization systems and then these measured velocities were compared with the velocities of synthetic α-quartz crystals. Longitudinal velocities of principal X-, Y-, and Z-cut specimens; shear velocities with X-axis polarized particle displacements of the Y- and Z-cut specimens; and LSAW velocities for these three specimens were precisely measured. We found all the velocities for the bulk waves and the LSAWs of natural quartz to be slightly smaller (within 1.00 m/s) than the velocities of synthetic quartz. Therefore, the acoustical physical constants of the natural quartz are very similar to those of synthetic quartz we reported recently.