Anti-irradiation SAW temperature sensor based on 128° YX LiNbO3 single crystal

The ferroelectric materials own the natural anti-irradiation property, paving great potentials and applications regarding the aerospace fields. Benefiting from this property, LiNbO3-based surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices can be used for high accuracy sensing signal test under extreme circumstances. In this work, the 128° YX cut LiNbO3 substrate was adopted for SAW resonator temperature sensor application, and the response frequency varied from 180.44 MHz to 177.628 MHz with temperature from 21.9 ℃ to 199.9 ℃. Subsequently, the device irradiated by 100 Krad Gamma ray was tested with vector network analyzer (VNA). A maximum frequency shift of ~ 0.38% was found under γ-ray irradiation with a dose of 100 Krad on account of slight irradiation effect. The results verify the radiation resistance ability of SAW for development of highly reliable temperature sensor in the irradiation environment. A novel SAW temperature sensor was analyzed, designed and fabricated with 128°YX LiNbO3 process platform, which can be used for testing temperature under irradiation experiment. [Display omitted] •A SAW temperature sensor was fabricated by 128° YX cut LiNbO3 which could work under the irradiation experiment.•The sensor has good anti-irradiation property, that a maximum frequency shift of 0.38% was found under γ-ray irradiation.•The SAW temperature sensor was standardized and tested, and the device showed good stability.