Love waves propagation in a piezoelectric layered structure with initial stresses

Summary. The propagation behavior of Love waves in a piezoelectric layered structure with inhomogeneous initial stress is studied. Solutions of the mechanical displacement and electrical potential function are obtained for the isotropic elastic layer and transversely isotropic piezoelectric substrate, respectively, by solving the coupled electromechanical field equations. Firstly, effects of the inhomogeneous initial stress on the dispersion relations and phase velocity of Love wave propagation are discussed. Then the influence of the initial stress gradient coefficient on the stress, mechanical displacement and electrical potential distribution in the layer and the substrate is investigated in detail. The results reported in this paper are not only meaningful for the design of surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices with high performance, but also effective for evaluating the residual stress distribution in the layered structures.