Experimental Observation of the Acoustoelectric Effect in Monolithically Integrated AlScN/SiC Heterostructures

The acoustoelectric (AE) effect enables non-reciprocal RF wave amplification through phonon-electron interaction, supporting applications like amplifiers, circulators, and mixers. This work demonstrates an AE delay line using monolithically integrated AlScN and SiC. The device is based on the interaction of Sezawa mode surface acoustic waves (SAW) in AlScN/SiC with an ion implant engineered SiC substrate. Experimental results reveal nonreciprocity at 3.8 GHz with a 200 V bias, exhibiting a nonreciprocity of 0.66 dB and an acoustic gain of 0.53 dB (5.3 dB/mm). These findings underscore the potential of AlScN/SiC platforms for high-frequency and high-performance AE devices.