An Array of Bulk Acoustic Wave Sensors as a High-Frequency Antenna for Gravitational Waves

In their simplest form, bulk acoustic wave (BAW) devices consist of a piezoelectric crystal between two electrodes that transduce the material’s vibrations into electrical signals. They are adopted in frequency control and metrology, with well-established standards at frequencies of 5 MHz and above. Their use as a resonant-mass strain antenna for high-frequency gravitational waves has been recently proposed (Goryachev and Tobar, 2014). The estimated power spectral density sensitivity at the resonant frequencies is of the order of 10−21strain/Hz. In this paper, after introducing the science opportunity and potential of gravitational wave detection with BAWs, we describe the two-stage BAUSCIA project plan to build a multimode antenna based on commercial BAWs, followed by an optimized array of custom BAWs. We show that commercially available BAWs already provide sensitivity comparable to current experiments around 10 MHz. Finally, we outline options for optimization of custom devices to improve sensitivity in an unexplored region, probe multiple frequencies between 0.1 and 10 MHz, and target specific signals, such as post-merger emission from neutron stars or emission from various dark matter candidates.

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Publication Details

Journal
Galaxies
Published
2025-08-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/galaxies13040094
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.31

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An Array of Bulk Acoustic Wave Sensors as a High-Frequency Antenna for Gravitational Waves

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Galaxies
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
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An Array of Bulk Acoustic Wave Sensors as a High-Frequency Antenna for Gravitational Waves

F. De Guio, Rodolfo Carobene, D. Rozza, Giorgia Albani, E. Ferri, M. Faverzani, C. Gotti, G. Pessina, L. Canonica, Danilo Labranca, A. Giachero, T. Tabarelli de Fatis, Angelo Nucciotti, M. Borghesi, Leonardo Mariani, R. Gerosa
article en
2 citations

Abstract

In their simplest form, bulk acoustic wave (BAW) devices consist of a piezoelectric crystal between two electrodes that transduce the material’s vibrations into electrical signals. They are adopted in frequency control and metrology, with well-established standards at frequencies of 5 MHz and above. Their use as a resonant-mass strain antenna for high-frequency gravitational waves has been recently proposed (Goryachev and Tobar, 2014). The estimated power spectral density sensitivity at the resonant frequencies is of the order of 10−21strain/Hz. In this paper, after introducing the science opportunity and potential of gravitational wave detection with BAWs, we describe the two-stage BAUSCIA project plan to build a multimode antenna based on commercial BAWs, followed by an optimized array of custom BAWs. We show that commercially available BAWs already provide sensitivity comparable to current experiments around 10 MHz. Finally, we outline options for optimization of custom devices to improve sensitivity in an unexplored region, probe multiple frequencies between 0.1 and 10 MHz, and target specific signals, such as post-merger emission from neutron stars or emission from various dark matter candidates.

GalaxiesVol. 13(4)
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano Bicocca (IT), University of Milano-Bicocca (IT)
Dipartimenti di Eccellenza, Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca, Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
2.31
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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