Gold as a Promising Electrode Material for LiNbO3-on-Insulator (LNOI) SH-SAW Resonators: An Experimental Study

The need for wideband radio frequency front ends (RFFEs) with next-generation wireless protocols highlights the importance of electromechanical coupling ${k}_{\text {eff}}^{{2}}$ . The hetero acoustic layered (HAL) surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonator with aluminum (Al) electrodes has shown superior performance compared to conventional SAW devices. Despite gold (Au) having excellent conductivity and stable properties, its high acoustic absorption and low phase velocity have made it less favorable for electrodes. This work demonstrates that high-performance shear horizontal (SH)-SAW resonators can be fabricated on the lithium niobate-on-insulator (LNOI) platform using a setup specifically designed for an Au electrodes. Experimental validation shows that the device achieves a high quality factor (Q) over 870, excellent ${k}_{\text {eff}}^{{2}}$ up to 40%, and operates around 765 MHz. Unwanted transverse spurious modes are suppressed through adequate electrode design, and the temperature stability of LNOI SH-SAW with Au electrodes is discussed. This study highlights gold’s potential as an electrode material for high ${k}_{\text {eff}}^{{2}}$ , clean spectrum, and wideband applications.