Surface electro-elastic shear horizontal waves in a layered structure with a piezoelectric substrate and a hard dielectric layer

The existence and behaviour of surface electro-elastic shear horizontal waves in a layered structure consisting of a piezoelectric substrate of crystal class 6, 4, 6mm, or 4mm mechanically bonded at its upper surface to an elastic dielectric layer and bounded by an adjacent dielectric medium is considered when the shear bulk wave velocity in the elastic layer is greater than or equal to that in the substrate. The dispersion equation for the existence of the surface electro-elastic SH waves with respect to the phase velocity is obtained which includes all the above crystal classes i.e. the surface wave problems related to all these classes are presented in a single mathematical model. The investigation of the solutions of the dispersion equation is carried out and all the possible cases of the behaviour of the surface electro-elastic SH wave depending on the electro-mechanical coefficients of the layered structure are revealed. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.