Bleustein-Gulyaev waves in an inhomogeneous layered piezoelectric half-space

The propagation of Bleustein-Gulyaev (BG) waves in an inhomogeneous layered piezoelectric half-space is investigated in this paper. Application of the Fourier transform method and by solving the electromechanically coupled field equations, solutions to the mechanical displacement and electric potential are obtained for the piezoelectric layer and substrate, respectively. The phase velocity equations for BG waves are obtained for the surface electrically shorted case. When the layer and the substrate are homogenous, the dispersion equations are in agreement with the corresponding results. Numerical calculations are performed for the case that the layer and the substrate are identical LiNbO₃ except that they are polarized in opposite directions. Effects of the inhomogeneities induced by either the layer or substrate are discussed in detail.