Contribution to the electromechanical and nonlinear properties of GaPO4 crystals

In the last decade, much attention has been given to piezoelectric crystals with large electromechanical coupling coefficient. The quartz homeotypes berlinite and gallium orthophosphate (GaPO(4)), along with the calcium gallo-germanates such as langasite are representative of these crystals. The coupling coefficient k(26) associated with thickness-shear mode resonators is two times greater than that of quartz, increasing the spacing between the series and parallel resonance frequencies of resonators suitable for the frequency range from 1 to 100 MHz. This is important for some types of crystal oscillators and monolithic filters. The large electromechanical coupling coefficient also increases the difference between the temperature dependencies of the fundamental resonance frequency and its harmonics. In this paper, measured resonance frequency-temperature characteristics of the fundamental and third harmonics of selected rotated Y-cut GaPO(4) resonators vibrating in the thickness-shear mode are presented. Further attention is given to the measurement of some nonlinear properties of rotated Y-cut GaPO(4) resonators. Knowledge of such nonlinear interactions is important for the analysis of intermodulation phenomena in resonators, and for the application of GaPO(4) resonators in crystal oscillators, filters and other electronic devices.