Modeling electrical response of polymer-coated SAW resonators by equivalent circuit representation

The paper presents an equivalent circuit model of the polymer coated surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators by combining coupling-of-mode (COM) description of SAW resonators and perturbation calculation of SAW propagation under polymer loading. An expression for the motional load produced by polymer coating is deduced in terms of COM parameters and polymer characteristics. In addition, expressions for the shifts in resonance frequency and attenuation due to polymer loading are obtained. Simulation results are presented for one-port and two-port resonator devices coated with viscoelastic thin polymer film. The influence of polymer film on resonator response is studied with regard to variations in film thickness and shear modulus. The model simplifies understanding of polymer-coated SAW sensors.

Research highlights
► Polymer-coated SAW resonators are modeled in equivalent circuits based on COM theory.
► Expressions for the shifts in resonance frequency and attenuation are obtained.
► Design and simulation results are presented to understand effects of coating on device response.