Surface Acoustic Wave Devices

The work of this project is concerned with the simulation of surface acoustic waves (SAW) and topology optimization of SAW devices. SAWs are elastic vibrations that propagate along a material surface and are extensively used in electromechanical filters and resonators in telecommunication. A new application is modulation of optical waves in waveguides. This presentation elaborates on how a SAW is generated by interdigital transducers using a 2D model of a piezoelectric, inhomogeneous material implemented in the high-level programming language Comsol Multiphysics. The SAW is send through a model of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI). This is an optical device consisting if one waveguide that is split into two waveguide arms which are assembled again later on. By applying the mechanical field from a SAW the light in the two arms can be modulated and interfere constructively and destructively at the output waveguide and the MZI can thus be used as an optical switch. It is explained how the mechanical model of the SAW is coupled to a model of the optical waves such that the change in effective refractive index introduced in the MZI arms by the SAW can be calculated. Results of a parameter study of the geometry are presented to show that it is possible to improve the modulation of the light. It is discussed how topology optimization can be employed such that further improvements of the modulation can be achieved.