High-Sensitivity AlN-Based Surface Acoustic Wave Strain Sensor with Strain–Temperature Decoupling Method

High-Sensitivity AlN-Based Surface Acoustic Wave Strain Sensor with Strain–Temperature Decoupling Method | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article High-Sensitivity AlN-Based Surface Acoustic Wave Strain Sensor with Strain–Temperature Decoupling Method Yan Liu, Yuanhang Qu, Xiang Chen, Shengxiang Wang, Zhiwei Wen, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6861864/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract To address the urgent demand for high-sensitivity and anti-interference strain sensing in structural health monitoring under extreme environments, this study proposes a surface acoustic wave (SAW) strain sensor based on a trench structure, along with a dual-channel temperature–strain decoupling strategy. Finite element simulations were employed to optimize the trench parameters and enhance strain sensitivity. By utilizing two sensor units with distinct strain sensitivities, a linear sensitivity equation system was established to achieve real-time decoupling of temperature and strain signals. Specifically, the two sensor channels were arranged along the wavelength and aperture directions, respectively, to exploit their different responses to directional strain—strain along the wavelength direction induces a positive frequency shift, while strain along the aperture direction causes a negative frequency shift. In contrast, temperature variations produce synchronous frequency shifts in both channels. Based on this principle, a sensitivity matrix was constructed to enable high-precision, real-time decoupling measurements. Experimental results demonstrate that thinning the substrate to 200 µm yields a strain sensitivity of 194 Hz/µε, more than twice that of conventional unthinned sensors. The grooved structure also reduces temperature sensitivity to 6.1 kHz/°C, representing a 57% decrease compared to similar studies. Through the dual-channel decoupling algorithm, the system achieves a strain measurement error of 7.5 µε (RMSE) and a temperature error of 0.21°C, enabling precise sensing. This research offers a highly reliable solution for wireless and passive strain monitoring in extreme conditions such as high temperatures and intense radiation. Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering Physical sciences/Physics Full Text Additional Declarations There is no conflict of interest Supplementary Files SupportingInformation.docx High-Sensitivity AlN-Based Surface Acoustic Wave Strain Sensor with Strain–Temperature Decoupling Method Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6861864","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":475715302,"identity":"ff357f2e-9f7f-4991-a5b4-cbe584c04a76","order_by":0,"name":"Yan 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Finite element simulations were employed to optimize the trench parameters and enhance strain sensitivity. By utilizing two sensor units with distinct strain sensitivities, a linear sensitivity equation system was established to achieve real-time decoupling of temperature and strain signals. Specifically, the two sensor channels were arranged along the wavelength and aperture directions, respectively, to exploit their different responses to directional strain\u0026mdash;strain along the wavelength direction induces a positive frequency shift, while strain along the aperture direction causes a negative frequency shift. In contrast, temperature variations produce synchronous frequency shifts in both channels. Based on this principle, a sensitivity matrix was constructed to enable high-precision, real-time decoupling measurements. Experimental results demonstrate that thinning the substrate to 200 \u0026micro;m yields a strain sensitivity of 194 Hz/\u0026micro;ε, more than twice that of conventional unthinned sensors. The grooved structure also reduces temperature sensitivity to 6.1 kHz/\u0026deg;C, representing a 57% decrease compared to similar studies. Through the dual-channel decoupling algorithm, the system achieves a strain measurement error of 7.5 \u0026micro;ε (RMSE) and a temperature error of 0.21\u0026deg;C, enabling precise sensing. This research offers a highly reliable solution for wireless and passive strain monitoring in extreme conditions such as high temperatures and intense radiation.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"High-Sensitivity AlN-Based Surface Acoustic Wave Strain Sensor with Strain–Temperature Decoupling Method","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-06-27 15:57:09","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6861864/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"f8a1ba86-8c35-4595-b1b2-77b7fc9989f4","owner":[],"postedDate":"June 27th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":50514041,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering"},{"id":50514042,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-07-17T06:10:30+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-06-27 15:57:09","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6861864","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6861864","identity":"rs-6861864","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}