Attenuation of acoustic normal modes in piezoelectric plates loaded by viscous liquids.

Attenuation cac versus viscosity eta of adjacent liquid is measured for each normal mode n generated in 30 different plates of commercially available, piezoelectric crystals with thickness-to-wavelength ratio in the range h/lamda = 0.6 - 2.5. Two modes with an optimal combination of sensitivity (0.1 dB/mm x cP), insertion loss (<35 dB), and stop-band rejection (>15 dB) are found in liquid-loaded 128 degrees Y,X + 90 degrees - LiNbO3 with h/lamda = 1.67. Both modes are suited for viscosity measurements and other sensing tasks in viscous liquids. They have predominantly longitudinal displacement and large propagation velocity v(n), about 15,000 m/s.