Applications of SAW Devices in High Performance Instrumentation

Abstract

Surface acoustic wave devices now play a vital role in several important instrumentation applications. SAW technology offers unique advantages over other signal processing methods in the block diagrams of synthesized signal sources and other precision measurement tools. This paper details the contributions made by SAW resonators and filters in a number of Hewlett-Packard instrument applications. SAWcontrolled oscillators are now the preferred design for precision frequency control applications in the frequency range 200 MHz -1 GHz. The challenges in device design, fabrication, packaging, and testing for these demanding applications are discussed.