5A Wireless SAW Sensors for Harsh Environment Applications

Title Wireless SAW Sensors for Harsh Environment Applications: Design Principles, Materials and Reading Systems
Instructor(s) and Affiliation  Natalaya Natalya F. Naumenko, National University of Science and Technology, Russia

TaoHan Tao HAN, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

Short biography of instructor(s) Dr. Naumenko received M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in the physics of dielectrics and semiconductors from the Moscow Steel and Alloys Institute in 1979 and 1984, respectively. From 1979 to 1990 she worked on SAW device design in the Radio-Engineering Institute, Moscow. Since 1990 she is with the National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”, Moscow, where she combines research work with teaching activities. From 1995 to 2011, Dr. Naumenko was also a consultant for the company TriQuint Semiconductors (SAWTEK Inc. before 2001), in Apopka, FL. She was engaged in modeling and development of advanced software for improvement of SAW device performance and investigation of new materials for SAW devices. From 2011 to 2015, she performed research projects for TDK-EPCOS, Germany, and CTR, Austria. Dr. Naumenko is the author of thirteen issued U.S. patents on the optimal substrate orientations for SAW devices, and more than 90 publications in SAW material research. Her current research interests include investigation of substrate materials and development of improved simulation tools for design of SAW and BAW devices, including resonator SAW filters, delay lines and wireless SAW sensors. Since 2011 Dr. Naumenko is member of the Technical Program Committee of the IEEE Ultrasonic Symposium.

Dr. Han received the Ph.D. degree in instrument science and technology from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2002. He was a visiting scholar in Tohoku University and Chiba University of Japan in 2003 and 2013, respectively. Since 1999, his research group has been engaged in developping wireless SAW sensor systems for harsh enviroment applications, and has undertaken ten projects funded by the Natural Science Funding of China (NSFC). Dr. Han currently is a professor in Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Vice-chair of the Department of Instrument Science and Engineering. He has published more than 30 scientific papers in his field. Since 2012 Prof. Han has been a member of the Technical Program Committee of the IEEE Ultrasonic Symposium.

Abstract The course consists of two parts. In the first part, the substrate materials commonly used or potentially useful for application in wireless SAW sensors operating in harsh environment will be overviewed. With respect to the basic structures of passive wireless SAW sensors, the advantages and limitations of each material will be discussed. Special attention will be paid to the influence of electrode metal and degradation of sensor performance caused by undesired acoustic modes typical for each substrate material. We will demonstrate how the simulation tools previously developed for SAW filter design can be applied to evaluate sensor characteristics. The second part of the course will start from an overview of the passive wireless SAW sensors and provide the loss mechanism and design principles of the reflective delay-line type and the resonant type SAW sensors. Then the reading system schematics and signal processing algorithms will be presented. Some application examples of SAW wireless sensors will be illustrated.
Overview of topics covered State-of-the-art of wireless SAW sensors and applications; the design of SAW sensors (the modeling of wave reflection and transmission, the coding scheme, the loss mechanism) and the reading system (the system schematics, the signal processing algorithms). Substrate materials and electrode metals for wireless SAW sensors operating in harsh environments; advantages and limitation of each material; undesired acoustic modes and methods of their suppression.
Target audience Students and engineers starting activities in design and fabrication of wireless SAW sensors.