Love Waves in a Piezoelectric Semiconductor Thin Film on an Elastic Dielectric Half-Space

In this paper, Love waves propagating in a piezoelectric semiconductor (PSC) layered structure are investigated, where a PSC thin film is perfectly bonded on an elastic dielectric half-space. The dispersion equations are derived analytically. The influence of semiconducting properties on the propagation characteristics is examined in detail. Numerical results show that the semiconducting effect reduces the propagation speed, and that the Love waves can propagate with a speed slightly higher than the shear wave speed of the elastic dielectric half-space. The wave speed and attenuation significantly depend on the steady-state carrier density and the thickness of the PSC thin film. It is also found that when the horizontal biasing electric field is larger than the critical value (corresponding to the zero attenuation), the wave amplitude is increased. These findings are useful for the analysis and design of various surface wave devices made of PSC.