''Acousto-electronics'' (also spelled 'Acoustoelectronics') is a branch of
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
,
acoustics
Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...
and
electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
that studies interactions of ultrasonic and hypersonic waves in solids with electrons and with electro-magnetic fields. Typical phenomena studied in acousto-electronics are
acousto-electric effect Acousto-electric effect is a nonlinear phenomenon of generation of electric current in a piezo-electric semiconductor by a propagating acoustic wave. The generated electric current is proportional to the intensity of the acoustic wave and to the val ...
and also amplification of acoustic waves by flows of electrons in piezoelectric semiconductors, when the drift velocity of the electrons exceeds the velocity of sound. The term 'acousto-electronics' is often understood in a wider sense to include numerous practical applications of the interactions of electro-magnetic fields with acoustic waves in solids. In particular, these are signal processing devices using
surface acoustic wave
A surface acoustic wave (SAW) is an acoustic wave traveling along the surface of a material exhibiting elasticity, with an amplitude that typically decays exponentially with depth into the material, such that they are confined to a depth of abou ...
s (SAW), different sensors of temperature, pressure, humidity, acceleration, etc.
See also
*
Acousto-optics
Acousto-optics is a branch of physics that studies the interactions between sound waves and light waves, especially the diffraction of laser light by ultrasound (or sound in general) through an ultrasonic grating.
Introduction
Optics has had a v ...
*
Rayleigh wave
Rayleigh waves are a type of surface acoustic wave that travel along the surface of solids. They can be produced in materials in many ways, such as by a localized impact or by piezo-electric transduction, and are frequently used in non-destructiv ...
*
Love wave
In elastodynamics, Love waves, named after Augustus Edward Hough Love, are horizontally polarized surface waves. The Love wave is a result of the interference of many shear waves (S-waves) guided by an elastic layer, which is ''welded'' to an e ...
*
Interdigital transducer
An interdigital transducer (IDT) is a device that consists of two interlocking comb-shaped arrays of metallic electrodes (in the fashion of a zipper). These metallic electrodes are deposited on the surface of a piezoelectric substrate, such as ...
*
Picosecond ultrasonics Picosecond ultrasonics is a type of ultrasonics that uses ultra-high frequency ultrasound generated by ultrashort light pulses. It is a non-destructive technique in which picosecond acoustic pulses penetrate into thin films or nanostructures to r ...
Further reading
* White, D.L.
''Amplification of ultrasonic waves in piezoelectric semiconductors'' Journal of Applied Physics, 33(8), 2547 - 2554 (1962).
* Hickernell, F.S.
''The piezoelectric semiconductor and acoustoelectronic device development in the sixties'' IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, 52(5), 737-45 (2005).
* Gulyaev, Yu.V., Hickernell, F.S.
''Acoustoelectronics: History, present state, and new ideas for a new era'' Acoustical Physics, 51(1), 81-88 (2005).
External links
Consortium for Applied Acoustoelectronic Technology - University of Central Florida
Acoustics
Electronics
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