In this paper, the performance of a magnetostatic surface wave straigh
t edge resonator (MSSW-SER) is extensively studied, including the mode
field distribution, the unloaded quality factor of the fundamental mo
de and coupling to the external circuit. Measurement of the magnetic f
ield distribution on a MSSW-SER is found to be useful for identifying
the mode number. The unloaded Q-value of the fundamental mode, which i
ncludes magnetic loss and conductor loss, and also the external Q are
measured to give design data for tunable band-pass filters. Moreover,
an equivalent circuit is set up to analyze the external Q; and verifie
d by experiment. Under higher power excitation: a novel performance of
the MSSW-SER is found in YIG films that is, the resonant frequency sh
ifts to the lower side and the unloaded quality factor tends to decrea
se. These phenomena caused by the nonlinear effect of a MSSW-SER are a
nalyzed by means of the nonlinear MSSW dispersion relation. The above
methods can be easily extended to study two other modes, magnetostatic
forward volume wave (MSFVW) and magnetostatic backward volume wave (M
SBVW) resonators.