Lately, wearable applications featuring photonic on-chip sensors are on the rise. Among many ways of controlling and/or modulating, the acousto-optic technique is seen to be a popular technique. This paper undertakes the study of different multilayer structures that can be fabricated for realizing an acousto-optic device, the objective being to obtain a high acousto-optic figure of merit (AOFM). By varying the thicknesses of the layers of these materials, several properties are discussed. The study shows that the multilayer thin film structure-based devices can give a high value of electromechanical coupling coefficient (k2) and a high AOFM as compared to the bulk piezoelectric/optical materials. The study is conducted to find the optimal normalised thickness of the multilayer structures with a material possessing the best optical and piezoelectric properties for fabricating acousto-optic devices. Based on simulations and studies of SAW propagation characteristics such as the electromechanical coupling coefficient (k2) and phase velocity (v), the acousto-optic figure of merit is calculated. The maximum value of the acousto-optic figure of merit achieved is higher than the AOFM of all the individual materials used in these layer structures. The suggested SAW device has potential application in wearable and small footprint acousto-optic devices and gives better results than those made with bulk piezoelectric materials. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.