Abstract
This paper describes the first observation of the generation of surface waves in a broad frequency band (0.2<f<1.0 GHz) by conversion from bulk acoustic waves. The latter are obtained by acoustoelectric amplification from thermal background in GaAs samples at 300 K. The surface waves are generated in the form of narrow propagating domains. Both group and phase velocity measurements, carried out on the principal crystallographic surfaces, served to identify the surface waves.