阅读说明：本技术 带有半λ介电层的横向激励的薄膜体声波谐振器 (Transverse-excited film bulk acoustic resonator with half lambda dielectric layer ) 是由 温切斯拉夫·扬捷切夫 于 2020-03-16 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了声波谐振器器件和滤波器。一种声波谐振器器件,包括：一基板,具有一表面；一单晶压电板,具有正面和背面,所述背面附接到所述基板的表面上,除了一部分的压电板未附接到所述基板的表面上,其中这部分的压电板形成了隔膜,所述隔膜跨越所述基板中的空腔。一叉指换能器(IDT),在所述单晶压电板的正面上形成,使得IDT的交错指状物设置在所述隔膜上。所述压电板和IDT配置为使得施加到IDT的射频信号激发所述隔膜中的剪切主声模。一半λ介电层,在所述压电板的正面和背面中的其中一面上形成。(Acoustic wave resonator devices and filters are disclosed. An acoustic wave resonator device comprising: a substrate having a surface; a single crystal piezoelectric plate having a front surface and a back surface, the back surface being attached to the surface of the substrate except for a portion of the piezoelectric plate which is not attached to the surface of the substrate, wherein the portion of the piezoelectric plate forms a diaphragm which spans a cavity in the substrate. An interdigital transducer (IDT) formed on the front surface of the single-crystal piezoelectric plate such that interleaved fingers of the IDT are disposed on the diaphragm. The piezoelectric plate and the IDT are configured such that a radio frequency signal applied to the IDT excites a shear primary acoustic mode in the diaphragm. And a half lambda dielectric layer formed on one of the front and back surfaces of the piezoelectric plate.)

1. An acoustic wave resonator device comprising:

a substrate having a surface;

a single crystal piezoelectric plate having a front surface and a back surface, the back surface being attached to the surface of the substrate except for a portion of the piezoelectric plate that is not attached to the surface of the substrate, wherein the portion of the piezoelectric plate forms a diaphragm that spans a cavity in the substrate;

an interdigital transducer (IDT) formed on a front surface of the single-crystal piezoelectric plate such that interleaved fingers of the IDT are disposed on the diaphragm, the piezoelectric plate and the IDT being configured such that a radio frequency signal applied to the IDT excites a shear primary acoustic mode in the diaphragm; and

and a half lambda dielectric layer formed on one of the front and back surfaces of the piezoelectric plate.

2. The acoustic resonator device according to claim 1,

the thickness ts of the piezoelectric plate and the thickness td of the dielectric layer are defined as follows:

2ts＝λ_0,sand are and

0.85λ_0,d≤2td≤1.15λ_0,d,

wherein λ_0,sIs the wavelength of the fundamental shear bulk acoustic wave resonance in said piezoelectric plate, and

λ_0,dis the wavelength of the substantially shear bulk acoustic wave resonance in the dielectric layer.

3. The acoustic resonator device according to claim 1,

the dielectric layer is SiO₂、Si₃N₄、Al₂O₃And AlN.

4. The acoustic resonator device according to claim 1,

the piezoelectric plate is a lithium niobate plate having a piezoelectric layer,

the dielectric layer is SiO₂And is and

the thickness ts of the piezoelectric plate and the thickness td of the dielectric layer are defined by the following relationship:

0.875ts≤td≤1.25ts。

5. the acoustic resonator device according to claim 4,

the acoustic resonator device has a frequency temperature coefficient between-32 ppm/deg.C and-42 ppm/deg.C at the resonant frequency and between-20 ppm/deg.C and-36 ppm/deg.C at the anti-resonant frequency.

6. A filter arrangement comprising:

a substrate;

a piezoelectric plate having parallel front and back surfaces and a thickness ts, the back surface of which is attached to the substrate;

a conductor pattern formed on the front surface, the conductor pattern including a plurality of interdigital transducers (IDTs) of a respective plurality of resonators including parallel resonators and series resonators, interleaved fingers of each of the plurality of IDTs being disposed on a respective portion of the piezoelectric plate suspended over one or more cavities formed in the substrate;

a first dielectric layer of thickness tds deposited between the fingers of the series resonator; and

a second dielectric layer of thickness tdp deposited between the fingers of the parallel resonator, wherein

ts, tds, and tdp are related by the following equations:

2ts＝λ_0,sand are and

0.85λ_0,d≤2tds<2tdp≤1.15λ_0,d

wherein λ_0,sIs the wavelength of the fundamental shear bulk acoustic wave resonance in the piezoelectric plate, and

λ_0,dis the wavelength of the substantially shear bulk acoustic wave resonance in the dielectric layer.

7. A filter arrangement comprising:

a substrate;

a lithium niobate piezoelectric plate having parallel front and back surfaces and a thickness ts, the back surface being attached to the substrate;

a conductor pattern formed on the front surface, the conductor pattern including a plurality of interdigital transducers (IDTs) of a respective plurality of resonators including parallel resonators and series resonators, interleaved fingers of each of the plurality of IDTs being disposed on a respective portion of the piezoelectric plate suspended over one or more cavities formed in the substrate;

first SiO with thickness of tds₂A layer deposited between the fingers of the series resonator; and

second SiO with thickness of tdp₂A layer deposited between the fingers of the parallel resonator, wherein

ts, tds and tdp are related by:

0.875ts≤tds<tdp≤1.25ts。

8. the acoustic resonator device according to claim 7,

the acoustic resonator device has a temperature coefficient of frequency between-20 ppm/deg.C and-42 ppm/deg.C at the resonant frequency and the antiresonant frequency of all of the plurality of resonators.

9. A method of fabricating an acoustic wave resonator device on a single crystal piezoelectric plate having parallel front and back surfaces, the back surface being attached to the substrate, the method comprising:

forming a cavity in the substrate such that a portion of the single crystal piezoelectric plate forms a diaphragm across the cavity;

forming an interdigital transducer (IDT) on a front surface of the single crystal piezoelectric plate such that interleaved fingers of the IDT are disposed on the diaphragm, the single crystal piezoelectric plate and the IDT configured such that a radio frequency signal applied to the IDT excites a shear primary acoustic mode within the diaphragm; and

a half lambda dielectric layer is formed on one of the front and back surfaces of the piezoelectric plate.

10. The method of claim 9,

the thickness ts of the piezoelectric plate and the thickness td of the dielectric layer are defined as follows:

2ts＝λ_0,sand are and

0.85λ_0,d≤2td≤1.15λ_0,d,

wherein λ_0,sIs the wavelength of the fundamental shear bulk acoustic wave resonance in said piezoelectric plate, and

λ_0,dis the wavelength of the substantially shear bulk acoustic wave resonance in the dielectric layer.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein forming a half λ dielectric layer further comprises:

deposition of SiO₂、Si₃N₄、Al₂O₃And AlN.

12. The method of claim 9,

the piezoelectric plate is lithium niobate, and

forming the half-lambda dielectric layer includes depositing SiO₂To a thickness td, wherein td is greater than or equal to 0.875ts and less than or equal to

Equal to 1.25ts, where ts is the thickness of the piezoelectric plate.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to radio frequency filters using acoustic wave resonators, and more particularly to filters for use in communication devices.

Background

A Radio Frequency (RF) filter is a two-terminal device that is configured to pass some frequencies and block others, where "pass" means transmitting with relatively low signal loss and "block" means blocking or substantially attenuating. The range of frequencies passed by the filter is referred to as the "passband" of the filter. The range of frequencies blocked by such a filter is called the "stop band" of the filter. A typical RF filter has at least one pass band and at least one stop band. The specific requirements of the pass band or stop band depend on the specific application. For example, a "passband" may be defined as a range of frequencies in which the insertion loss of the filter is better than a defined value such as 1dB, 2dB, or 3 dB. A "stop band" may be defined as a frequency range in which the rejection of the filter is greater than a defined value, for example a value of 20dB, 30dB, 40dB or more, depending on the particular application.

RF filters are used in communication systems that transmit information over wireless links. For example, RF filters can be found in the RF front-ends of cellular base stations, mobile phones and computing devices, satellite transceivers and ground stations, internet of things (IoT) devices, laptops and tablets, fixed-point radio links, and other communication systems. RF filters are also used in radar and electronic and information warfare systems.

RF filters typically require many design tradeoffs to achieve the best compromise between performance parameters such as insertion loss, rejection, isolation, power handling, linearity, size and cost for each particular application. Specific designs and manufacturing methods and enhancements may benefit from one or more of these needs simultaneously.

The performance enhancement of RF filters in wireless systems can have a wide impact on system performance. System performance can be improved by improving the RF filter, such as larger cell size, longer battery life, higher data rate, larger network capacity, lower cost, enhanced security, higher reliability, etc. These improvement points may be implemented individually or in combination at various levels of the wireless system, for example at the RF module, RF transceiver, mobile or fixed subsystem or network level.

To obtain a wider communication channel bandwidth, it is necessary to use a higher frequency communication band. Current LTE^TMThe (long term evolution) specification defines the frequency band between 3.3GHz to 5.9 GHz. Some of which are not currently used. Future wireless communication proposals include the millimeter wave communication band, which has frequencies up to 28 GHz.

High performance RF filters for current communication systems typically contain acoustic wave resonators, which in turn include Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) resonators, bulk acoustic wave BAW) resonators, thin Film Bulk Acoustic Resonators (FBARs), and other types of acoustic resonators. However, these prior art techniques are not well suited for use at higher frequencies that are proposed for use in future communication networks.

Drawings

Fig. 1 includes a schematic plan view and two schematic cross-sectional views of a laterally excited film bulk acoustic resonator (XBAR).

Fig. 2 is a partially enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of the XBAR of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partially enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of an improved XBAR including a "half λ" dielectric layer.

Fig. 4 is a graph comparing admittance of an XBAR with a half lambda dielectric layer and a conventional XBAR.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an XBAR with a contoured half-lambda dielectric layer, where the contour represents the stress at the resonant frequency.

Fig. 6 is a graph comparing the admittances of three XBARs with half lambda AlN layers.

FIG. 7 is a comparison of SiO with half λ₂Graph of admittance of three XBARs of a layer.

FIG. 8 is a comparison of SiO with half λ₂Graph of admittance of three other XBARs of a layer.

FIG. 9 is a graph having an over-thin half λ SiO₂Graph of admittance of XBAR of a layer.

FIG. 10 is a graph having an over-thick half λ SiO₂Graph of admittance of XBAR of a layer.

FIG. 11 is the temperature frequency coefficient of XBAR with SiO₂Graph of thickness variation.

Fig. 12 is a schematic circuit diagram and layout of a filter using XBAR.

Fig. 13 is a flow chart of a process for fabricating an XBAR including a half lambda dielectric layer.

Throughout the specification, elements appearing in the drawings are assigned reference numerals of three or four digits, where the two least significant bits are specific to the element and one or two most significant bits are the number showing the element first. Elements not described in connection with the figures may be assumed to have the same characteristics and functions as previously described elements having the same reference numerals.

Detailed Description

Description of the devices

Figure 1 shows a simplified schematic top view and orthogonal cross-sectional view of a laterally excited thin film bulk acoustic resonator (XBAR)100 described in U.S. patent No.10,491,192. XBAR resonators such as resonator 100 may be used in a variety of RF filters including band-stop filters, band-pass filters, duplexers, and multiplexers. XBAR is well suited for filters used in communication bands with frequencies above 3 GHz.

XBAR100 is comprised of a thin film conductor pattern formed on the surface of a piezoelectric plate 110 having parallel front and back surfaces 112, 114, respectively. The piezoelectric plate is a thin single crystal layer made of a piezoelectric material such as lithium niobate, lithium tantalate, langasite, gallium nitride, or aluminum nitride. The piezoelectric plate is cut so that the directions of the X, Y and Z crystal axes with respect to the front and back surfaces are known and coincide. In the example shown in this patent, the piezoelectric plate may be Z-cut, that is, the Z-axis is perpendicular to the front and back faces 112, 114. However, XBARs can be fabricated on piezoelectric plates having other crystal orientations.

The back surface 114 of the piezoelectric plate 110 is attached to the surface of the substrate 120, except that a portion of the piezoelectric plate 110 is not attached to the surface of the substrate 120, wherein the portion of the piezoelectric plate 110 forms a diaphragm 115, the diaphragm 115 spanning a cavity 140 formed in the substrate. The portion of the piezoelectric plate 110 spanning the cavity is referred to herein as the "diaphragm" 115 because this portion is physically similar to the diaphragm of the microphone. As shown in fig. 1, the diaphragm 115 abuts the remainder of the piezoelectric plate 110 around the entire perimeter 145 of the cavity 140. In this case, "adjacent" means "continuously connected without any other article in between".

The substrate 120 provides mechanical support for the piezoelectric plate 110. The substrate 120 may be, for example, silicon, sapphire, quartz, or some other material, or a combination of these materials. The back surface 114 of the piezoelectric plate 110 may be bonded to the substrate 120 using a wafer bonding process. Alternatively, the piezoelectric plate 110 is grown on the substrate 120, or the piezoelectric plate 110 is attached to the substrate in some other way. The piezoelectric plate 110 may be attached directly to the substrate, or may be attached to the substrate 120 via one or more intermediate layers of material.

The conventional meaning of "cavity" is "an empty space within a solid". The cavity 140 may be a hole completely through the substrate 120 (as shown in cross-sections a-a and B-B) or may be a groove in the substrate 120. For example, the cavity 140 may be formed by selectively etching the substrate 120 before or after attaching the piezoelectric plate 110 to the substrate 120.

The conductor pattern of XBAR100 includes an interdigital transducer (IDT) 130. The IDT130 includes a first plurality of parallel fingers, such as finger 136, extending from a first bus bar 132, and the IDT130 also includes a second plurality of fingers extending from a second bus bar 134. The first and second pluralities of parallel fingers are interleaved. The interleaved fingers overlap a distance AP, which is commonly referred to as the "aperture" of the IDT. The center-to-center distance L between the outermost fingers of the IDT130 is the "length" of the IDT.

First and second bus bars 132, 134 serve as terminals of XBAR 100. A radio frequency or microwave signal applied between the two bus bars 132, 134 of the IDT130 excites a primary acoustic mode within the piezoelectric plate 110. The primary acoustic mode is a bulk shear mode in which acoustic energy propagates in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the piezoelectric plate 110, which is also perpendicular or transverse to the direction of the electric field generated by the IDT fingers. XBAR is therefore considered a laterally excited thin film bulk wave resonator.

The IDT130 is placed on the piezoelectric plate 110 such that at least the fingers of the IDT130 are disposed on a portion 115 of the piezoelectric plate, the portion 115 straddling or suspended over the cavity 140. As shown in FIG. 1, the cavity 140 has a rectangular shape with a dimension that is greater than the length L of the aperture AP and IDT 130. The cavities of the XBAR may have different shapes, such as regular or irregular polygons. The cavities of the XBAR may have more or less than four sides, which may be straight or curved.

For ease of illustration in fig. 1, the geometrical spacing and width of the IDT fingers are greatly exaggerated relative to the length (dimension L) and aperture (dimension AP) of the XBAR. A typical XBAR has more than ten parallel fingers in the IDT 110. An XBAR may have hundreds, possibly thousands, of parallel fingers in IDT 110. Similarly, the thickness of the IDT fingers is greatly exaggerated in the cross-sectional view.

Fig. 2 shows a detailed schematic cross-sectional view of an XBAR 200, which XBAR 200 may be the XBAR100 of fig. 1. The piezoelectric plate 210 is a single crystal layer of piezoelectric material having a front surface 214 and a back surface 216. The thickness ts between the front side 214 and the back side 216 may be, for example, 100nm to 1500 nm. When used for 5G NR (fifth generation new radio) and Wi-Fi from 3.3GHz to 6GHz^TMFor band filters, the thickness ts may be, for example, 280nm to 550 nm.

The IDT finger 238 may be aluminum, substantially aluminum alloy, copper, substantially copper alloy, tungsten, molybdenum, beryllium, gold, or some other electrically conductive material. A thin (relative to the total thickness of the conductor) layer of other metal (e.g., chromium or titanium) may be formed under and/or over the fingers to improve adhesion between the fingers and the piezoelectric plate 210 and/or to passivate or encapsulate the fingers. The bus bars (132, 134 in fig. 1) of the IDT can be made of the same or different material than the fingers.

Dimension p is the center-to-center spacing or "pitch" of the IDT fingers, which may be referred to as the pitch of the IDT and/or the pitch of the XBAR. Dimension w is the width or "signature" of the IDT finger. The IDT of XBAR is significantly different from the IDT used in Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) resonators. In the SAW resonator, the pitch of the IDT is half the wavelength of the acoustic wave at the resonance frequency. In addition, the tag pitch ratio of the SAW resonator IDT is typically close to 0.5 (i.e., the width of the tag or finger is approximately one-quarter of the wavelength of the acoustic wave at resonance). In XBAR, the pitch p of the IDT is typically 2 to 20 times the finger width w. In addition, the pitch p of the IDTs is typically 2 to 20 times the thickness ts of the piezoelectric plate 210. The width of the IDT finger in an XBAR is not limited to one quarter of the acoustic wavelength at resonance. For example, the width of the XBAR IDT fingers can be 500nm or more, so that the IDT can be fabricated using photolithographic techniques. The thickness tm of the IDT fingers can be from 100nm to about equal to the width w. The thickness of the bus bars (132, 134 in FIG. 1) of the IDT can be equal to or greater than the thickness tm of the IDT fingers.

When the thickness ts of the piezoelectric plate is an integer multiple of half of the acoustic wavelength λ, a shear Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) propagating perpendicular to the surface of the piezoelectric plate will reflect from the surface and resonate or form a standing wave. The longest wavelength/lowest frequency at which such resonance occurs is the frequency f₀And wavelength lambda_0,sAt shear BAW fundamental resonance, equal to twice the piezoelectric plate thickness ts. The term "λ_0,s"refers to the wavelength of the shear BAW fundamental (0 th order) resonance of a piezoelectric plate in a piezoelectric plate. The wavelength of the same acoustic wave (i.e., a shear BAW propagating in the same direction at the same frequency) may be different in other materials. Frequency f₀Can be determined by dividing the shear BAW velocity in the piezoelectric plate by the wavelength λ_0，sTo be determined. The shear BAW fundamental resonance of the piezoelectric plate is different from the resonance of the XBAR device 200, which is affected by the IDT structure.

Fig. 3 shows a detailed schematic cross-sectional view of an XBAR comprising a "half λ" dielectric layer. Figure 3 specifically shows XBAR 300 having a thick dielectric layer 350 on the front side (i.e., the side facing away from the substrate; the upper side as shown in figure 3) of piezoelectric plate 310. A comparable dielectric layer on the back side 316 of the piezoelectric plate 310 may be used without the dielectric layer 350. To a greater extent, XBAR 300 with thick dielectric layer 350 is similar to XBAR100 of fig. 1. Fig. 3 also shows two IDT fingers 338 as previously described. Dimension p is the center-to-center spacing or "pitch" of the IDT fingers, and dimension w is the width or "mark" of the IDT fingers.

The piezoelectric plate 310 is a thin single crystal layer of a piezoelectric material such as lithium niobate or lithium tantalate. The piezoelectric plate 310 is cut such that the orientation of X, Y and the Z-crystal axis relative to the front and back faces 314, 316 is known and consistent. The thickness ts of the piezoelectric plate 310 may be, for example, 100nm to 1500 nm.

Dielectric layer 350 can be almost any dielectric material, such as SiO₂、Si₃N₄、Al₂O₃AlN and other dielectric materials. As will be discussed, when the dielectric material is or comprises AlN and when the dielectric material is SiO₂Particular advantages can arise.

The thickness ts of the piezoelectric plate 310 and the thickness td of the dielectric layer 350 are configured such that shear BAW propagating perpendicular to the surfaces 316 and 352 forms a full period standing wave between the surfaces 316 and 352 at a predetermined frequency, which may be slightly less than the desired resonant frequency of the XBAR device 300. In other words, the shear BAW second harmonic resonance occurs at a predetermined frequency. By definition, the thickness ts of the piezoelectric plate is λ_0,sWhich, as previously described, is the wavelength of the shear BAW fundamental resonance of piezoelectric plate 310 without dielectric layer 350. The dielectric layer 350 has a thickness td of λ_0，dOne half of (a), where λ_0，dIs the wavelength of the same bulk BAW in dielectric layer 350. In this case, each of the piezoelectric plate 310 and the dielectric layer 350 will contain a frequency f₀Of half-cycle standing waves of, wherein the frequency f₀Now the frequency of the second harmonic resonance. Lambda [ alpha ]_0，dIs equal to lambda_0，sMultiplied by the ratio of the shear acoustic wave velocity in the dielectric layer 350 to the shear acoustic wave velocity in the piezoelectric plate 310. For relatively slow dielectric materials, e.g. SiO₂,λ_0,dMay be equal to or slightly larger than λ_0,s. In this case, the thickness td of the dielectric layer 350 may be equal to or slightly less thanIs greater than ts. For relatively fast dielectric materials, e.g. S_i3N₄Or AlN, lambda_0,dCan be significantly larger than lambda_0,s. In this case, the thickness td of the dielectric layer 350 will be proportionally greater than ts.

Although the dielectric layer 350 is referred to herein as a "half λ" dielectric layer, the thickness td of the dielectric layer need not be exactly λ_0，d/2. The thickness td may be different from λ_0，d/2 so long as the combined thickness of the piezoelectric plate 310 and the dielectric layer 350 is such that the second overtone resonance of the bulk shear wave occurs at the predetermined frequency. Simulation results (some of which are discussed next) indicate that dielectric layer thicknesses, which range is defined below, result in XBARs with low spurious modes and consistent electromechanical coupling

0.85 λ_0,d≤2td≤1.15 λ_0,d (1)

Values of td outside this range can result in reduced electromechanical coupling and increased spurious modes. Varying td within this range allows tuning the resonant frequency of the XBAR by about 10%, which is sufficient to establish the necessary frequency offset between the parallel and series resonators for many filter applications.

In fig. 3, dielectric layer 350 is shown deposited over and between IDT fingers 338. In other embodiments, the half λ dielectric layer may be formed only between IDT fingers. The half lambda dielectric layer 350 may be a single layer or two or more layers of different dielectric materials with similar acoustic impedance.

The primary benefit of incorporating the half lambda dielectric layer 350 into the XBAR 300 is the increased thickness of the diaphragm. The thickness of the membrane of XBAR 300 may be two to three times the thickness of the membrane 115 of XBAR100 of fig. 1, depending on the materials used in the half-lambda dielectric layer 350. Thicker membranes are stiffer with less likelihood of bending or deformation with temperature changes.

The thicker diaphragm of XBAR 300 will also have a higher thermal conductivity, particularly if the half lambda dielectric layer 350 is or includes a high thermal conductivity dielectric material, such as aluminum nitride. The higher the thermal conductivity, the more efficient the removal of heat on the diaphragm, and thus the smaller the resonator area available for a given thermal load or power consumption.

XBAR 300 will also have a higher capacitance per unit area (for the same IDT spacing) than XBAR100 of fig. 1. Resonator capacitance is a circuit design issue. In particular, RF filters using acoustic resonators are generally required to meet this requirement that the input and output impedance of the filter match a defined value (typically 50 ohms). This requirement specifies a minimum capacitance value for some or all of the resonators in the filter. The XBAR 300 with partial bragg reflectors has a high capacitance per unit area so that a smaller resonator area can be used to meet any desired capacitance value.

XBAR with a half lambda dielectric layer on the back side of the piezoelectric plate 310 (not shown) has improved stiffness and thermal conductivity, but only a slight increase in capacitance per unit area.

Fig. 4 is a graph 400 comparing admittances of an XBAR with a half lambda dielectric layer and a conventional XBAR. The data shown in fig. 4 and the data shown in fig. 6 and 7 are the results of simulation of an XBAR device using a finite element method. Solid line 410 is a plot of admittance magnitude of an XBAR including a half λ dielectric layer as a function of frequency. The piezoelectric plate is 400nm thick lithium niobate. IDT is 100nm thick aluminum. The pitch and mark of the IDT fingers are 4.25 μm and 1.275 μm, respectively. The half lambda dielectric layer is formed of a 350nm thick layer of Si₃N₄And a layer of 350nm thick AlN. The resonance frequency was 4.607GHz and the anti-resonance frequency was 4.862 GHz. The difference between the anti-resonance frequency and the resonance frequency is 255MHz, i.e. about 5.4% of the average of the resonance frequency and the anti-resonance frequency.

The dashed line 420 is a plot of admittance magnitude of a conventional XBAR as a function of frequency. The piezoelectric plate is 400nm thick lithium niobate. IDT is 100nm thick aluminum. The IDT fingers have a pitch and mark of 3.7 μm and 0.47 μm, respectively. The resonance frequency was 4.71GHz and the anti-resonance frequency was 5.32 GHz. The difference between the anti-resonance frequency and the resonance frequency is 610MHz, i.e. about 12.2% of the average of the resonance frequency and the anti-resonance frequency. The admittance of a conventional XBAR (dashed line 420) exhibits some parasitic modes between the resonant and anti-resonant frequencies that are not present in the admittance of an XBAR with a half lambda dielectric layer (solid line 410).

The incorporation of a half lambda dielectric layer in XBAR device 300 results in a stiffer diaphragm with higher thermal conductivity than a conventional XBAR device, while possibly exciting fewer parasitic modes. These benefits come at the expense of reduced electromechanical coupling and a corresponding reduction in the difference between the resonant and anti-resonant frequencies.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an XBAR 500 with a half lambda dielectric layer, where the profile represents the stress at the resonant frequency. Piezoelectric plate 510 is 400nm thick lithium niobate. IDT fingers 538 are 100nm thick aluminum. The half lambda dielectric layer 550 is formed from a 350nm thick layer of Si₃N₄552 and a layer of 350nm thick AlN 554.

The stress in the XBAR 500 at the resonant frequency illustrates a full period standing wave between the device surfaces. The stress is highest near the center of the thickness of the piezoelectric plate 510 and near the center of the dielectric layer 550, which corresponds to the peak of two half-cycle standing waves. The stress near the boundary between the device surface and the piezoelectric plate 510 and near the center of the dielectric layer 550 is minimal, corresponding to zero crossings of the standing wave.

Fig. 6 is a graph 600 illustrating the use of pitch and dielectric layer thickness to tune the resonant and anti-resonant frequencies of an XBAR with a half lambda dielectric layer. Solid line 610 is a plot of admittance magnitude as a function of frequency for XBARs with a pitch and a mark of 4.25 μm and 1.275 μm, respectively. The piezoelectric plate is 400nm thick lithium niobate. IDT is 100nm thick aluminum. The half lambda dielectric layer is formed of a layer of Si 700nm thick₃N₄And (4) forming. The resonance frequency was 4.513GHz and the anti-resonance frequency was 4.749 GHz. The difference between the anti-resonance frequency and the resonance frequency is 236MHz, or about 5.1% of the average of the resonance frequency and the anti-resonance frequency.

Dashed line 620 has a similar configuration but the IDT fingers are spaced apart and labeled 3.75 μm and 1.31 μm respectively as a graph of XBAR-like admittance magnitude as a function of frequency. The resonance frequency was 4.557GHz and the anti-resonance frequency was 4.795 GHz. Changing the IDT pitch from 4.25 μm to 3.75 μm increases the resonant and anti-resonant frequencies by about 45 MHz. Varying the pitch in the range of 3 μm to 5 μm will provide a tuning range of about 200 MHz.

Dashed line 630 is a plot of XBAR-like admittance magnitude as a function of frequency. The IDT fingers have a pitch and mark of 4.25 μm and1.275 μm, the dielectric layer comprised a layer of Si3N4 of 700nm thickness and a layer of SiO 50nm thickness₂And (3) a layer. The resonance frequency was 4.400GHz and the anti-resonance frequency was 4.626 GHz. The addition of a 50nm "tuning layer" can reduce the resonant and anti-resonant frequencies by about 110 MHz.

Fig. 7 is another graph 700 showing the use of pitch and dielectric layer thickness to tune the resonant and anti-resonant frequencies of an XBAR with a half lambda dielectric layer. The solid line 710 is a plot of admittance magnitude as a function of frequency for XBARs with a pitch and a mark of 4.25 μm and 1.275 μm, respectively. The piezoelectric plate is 400nm thick lithium niobate. IDT is 100nm thick aluminum. The semi-lambda dielectric layer is formed by a layer of SiO with thickness of 400nm₂And (4) forming. The resonance frequency was 4.705GHz and the anti-resonance frequency was 5.108 GHz. The difference between the anti-resonance frequency and the resonance frequency is 403MHz, i.e. about 8.2% of the average of the resonance frequency and the anti-resonance frequency.

Dashed line 720 has a similar configuration but the IDT fingers are spaced apart and labeled 3.75 μm and 1.31 μm respectively as a graph of XBAR-like admittance magnitude as a function of frequency. The resonant frequency was 4.740GHz and the anti-resonant frequency was 5.137 GHz. Changing the IDT pitch from 4.25 μm to 3.75 μm increases the resonant and anti-resonant frequencies by about 35 MHz. Varying the pitch in the range of 3 μm to 5 μm will provide a tuning range of about 100 MHz.

Dashed line 730 has a graph of frequency dependence of admittance magnitude for a similarly constructed similar XBAR with the difference that the IDT fingers are 4.25 μm and 1.275 μm apart and the dielectric layer is 450nm thick SiO₂. The resonance frequency was 4.512GHz and the anti-resonance frequency was 4.905 GHz. The difference between the anti-resonance frequency and the resonance frequency is 393MHz, i.e. about 8.3% of the average of the resonance frequency and the anti-resonance frequency. Increasing the thickness of the dielectric layer by 50nm reduces the resonant and anti-resonant frequencies by about 190MHz without reducing the electromechanical coupling.

Fig. 8 is another graph 800 illustrating the use of dielectric layer thickness to tune the resonant and anti-resonant frequencies of an XBAR with a half lambda dielectric layer. The dashed line 810 is a plot of admittance magnitude as a function of frequency for XBARs with a pitch and a mark of 4.25 μm and 1.275 μm, respectively. The piezoelectric plate is 400nm thick lithium niobate. IDT is 100nm thick aluminum. The half lambda dielectric layer is formed by a layer of SiO 425nm thick₂And (4) forming. This example shows that the thickness td of the dielectric layer is equal to λ_0,dThe case of/2.

The solid line 820 is a plot of admittance magnitude versus frequency for a similar XBAR of identical construction, where the XBAR differs in that the dielectric layer is a 375nm thick SiO₂. In this case, td is 0.88(λ)_0,d/2). Dashed line 830 is a plot of admittance magnitude versus frequency for a similarly constructed XBAR, here differing in that the dielectric layer is 475nm thick SiO₂. In this case, td is 1.12(λ)_0,d/2). Mixing SiO₂Changing from 375nm to 475nm shifts the resonant and anti-resonant frequencies by about 400MHz while maintaining electromechanical coupling and not introducing objectionable spurious modes.

Assuming a 400nm thick lithium niobate piezoelectric plate, the td range expressed in formula (1) corresponds to about 350nm to 500 nm. The thickness ts of the piezoelectric plate can be represented by this range:

0.875 ts≤td≤1.25 ts (2)

it is contemplated that this range will apply to any thickness of the lithium niobate piezoelectric plate.

Fig. 9 is a graph 900 illustrating the effect of an overly thin "half λ" dielectric layer. Solid line 910 is a plot of admittance magnitude versus frequency for an XBAR having the same structure as the device of FIG. 8, SiO₂The thickness of the dielectric layer was reduced to 325 nm. In this case, td is 0.76(λ)_0,d/2). The dielectric layer thickness is reduced to the extent that the electromechanical coupling is reduced and the parasitic modes below the resonant frequency of the device are very large.

Fig. 10 is a graph 1000 illustrating the effect of an overly thick "half λ" dielectric layer. Solid line 910 is a plot of admittance magnitude versus frequency for an XBAR having the same structure as the device of FIG. 8, SiO₂The thickness of the dielectric layer was increased to 525 nm. In this case, td is 1.24(λ)_0,d/2). The dielectric layer thickness is increased to the point where the electromechanical coupling is reduced and the parasitic modes above the resonant frequency of the device are very large.

SiO₂Has a similar magnitude and opposite sign to the temperature coefficient of the frequency of the lithium niobate. Compared with the conventional XBAR device, the silicon-based oxide-nitride-based oxide-silicon (XBAR) device has SiO₂Half lambdaThe XBAR device of the dielectric layer has much less frequency variation with temperature.

FIG. 11 is the frequency temperature coefficient of XBAR with SiO₂Graph of thickness variation. Specifically, the solid line 1110 is a temperature coefficient plot of the anti-resonant frequency of the XBAR device whose admittance characteristics were previously shown in fig. 7 and 8. Dashed line 1120 is a temperature coefficient plot of the resonant frequency of the same device. Simulation results show that the temperature coefficient of frequency of the conventional XBAR device without the dielectric layer is about-113 ppm/C⁰。SiO₂The presence of the half lambda dielectric layer reduces the magnitude of the frequency temperature coefficient by about 3.

FIG. 12 is a schematic circuit diagram of a bandpass filter 1200 using five XBAR X1-X5. Filter 1200 may be, for example, an n79 bandpass filter used in communication devices. The filter 1200 has a conventional ladder filter architecture comprising three series resonators X1, X3, X5 and two parallel resonators X2, X4. Three series resonators X1, X3, X5 are connected in series between the first port and the second port. In fig. 12, the first port and the second port are labeled "In" and "Out", respectively. However, filter 1200 is bi-directional and either port may be used as an input or output of the filter. The two parallel resonators X2, X4 are connected from the node between the series resonators to ground. All parallel resonators and series resonators are XBARs.

The three series resonators X1, X3, X5 and the two parallel resonators X2, X4 of the filter 1200 may be formed on a single plate 1230 of piezoelectric material bonded to a silicon substrate (not visible). Each resonator includes a respective IDT (not shown), at least the fingers of the IDT being disposed above the cavity in the substrate. In this and similar contexts, the term "each" means "associating things with each other," i.e., in a one-to-one correspondence. In FIG. 12, the cavity is schematically illustrated as a dashed rectangle (e.g., rectangle 1235). In this example, the IDT of each resonator is disposed above the corresponding cavity. In other filters, IDTs of two or more resonators may be disposed on one common cavity. The resonators may also be cascaded into a plurality of IDTs, which may be formed on a plurality of cavities.

Each of the resonators X1 to X5 has a resonance frequency and an anti-resonance frequency. In short, each resonator is effectively a short circuit at its resonant frequency and an open circuit at its anti-resonant frequency. Each resonator X1 to X5 creates a "zero transmission" in which the transmission between the input and output ports of the filter is very low. Note that the transmission at "zero transmission" is not actually zero due to energy leakage through parasitic components and other effects. The three series resonators X1, X3, X5 generate transmission zeros at their respective anti-resonant frequencies (where each resonator is effectively an open circuit). The two parallel resonators X2, X4 generate transmission zeros at their respective resonant frequencies (where each resonator is effectively a short circuit). In a typical bandpass filter using acoustic resonators, the anti-resonance frequency of the series resonator is higher than the upper edge of the passband, so that the series resonator creates a transmission zero above the passband. The resonant frequency of the parallel resonator is less than the lower edge of the passband such that the parallel resonator creates a transmission zero below the passband.

Referring to the data of admittance versus frequency of fig. 7 and 8, it can be seen that the frequency shift between the resonant frequency and the anti-resonant frequency of an XBAR with a 400nm lithium niobate piezoelectric plate and a half λ dielectric layer is about 400 MHz. For bandpass filters in the telecommunications bands n79(4400MHz to 5000MHz) and n77(3300MHz to 4200MHz), this frequency separation is not sufficient by itself. Us patent No.10,491,192 describes the use of a dielectric layer deposited on the parallel resonator to lower the resonant frequency of the parallel resonator relative to the resonant frequency of the series resonator. Patent No.10,491,192 describes a filter characterized by having a very thin dielectric layer or no dielectric layer on the series resonators and a dielectric layer thickness of about 0.25 times the thickness of the piezoelectric plates on the parallel resonators.

When the resonator is an XBAR with a half λ dielectric layer, a similar approach can be used to lower the resonant frequency of the parallel resonator relative to the series resonator. In this case, the thickness tds of the dielectric layer on the series resonator and the thickness tdp of the dielectric layer on the parallel (parallel) resonator may be defined as

0.85 λ_0,d≤2tds<2tdp≤1.15 λ_0,d (3)

Referring to FIG. 8, solid line 820 is a graph having 375nm SiO on a 400nm lithium niobate piezoelectric plate₂Admittance of XBAR of the layer. Dotted line 830 is 475nm SiO on a 400nm lithium niobate piezoelectric plate₂Admittance of XBAR of the layer. By using SiO with 375nm on the series resonator₂Layered 400nm lithium niobate piezoelectric plate and use of SiO with 475nm on parallel resonators₂A 400nm lithium niobate piezoelectric plate of layers to make a filter, such as filter 1200. In this case, the frequency separation between the resonance frequency of the parallel resonator and the anti-resonance frequency of the series resonator is about 800MHz, which is sufficient for a bandpass filter of the n79 band. The frequency separation will be proportional to the thickness of the piezoelectric plate.

SiO on series and parallel resonators₂The range of layer thicknesses can be expressed as the thickness ts of the lithium niobate piezoelectric plate as follows:

0.875 ts≤tds<tdp≤1.25 ts, (4)

where tds is SiO on the series resonator₂Thickness of the layer, tdp, SiO on the parallel resonator₂The thickness of the layer.

Description of the method

Fig. 13 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating a method 1300 for fabricating an XBAR including partial bragg reflectors or filters containing such XBARs. The method 1300 begins 1305 with a thin piezoelectric plate disposed on a sacrificial substrate 1302 and a device substrate 1304. Method 1300 ends at 1395 and the XBAR or filter is complete. The flow chart of fig. 13 includes only the main processing steps. Various conventional process steps (e.g., surface preparation, cleaning, inspection, baking, annealing, monitoring, testing, etc.) may be performed before, during, after, and during the steps illustrated in fig. 13.

Fig. 13 captures three variations of a method 1300 for fabricating XBARs that differ in when and how cavities are formed in a substrate. The cavity may be formed at step 1310A, 1310B, or 1310C. Only one of these steps is performed in each of the three variants of method 1300.

Thin plates of single crystal piezoelectric material bonded to a non-piezoelectric substrate are commercially available. As used herein, lithium niobate and lithium tantalate plates may be used to bond to a variety of substrates, including silicon, quartz and fused silica. Other piezoelectric material sheets may be provided now or in the future. The thickness of the piezoelectric plate may be between 300nm and 1000 nm. The piezoelectric plate may be, for example, Z-cut, rotary Z-cut, or rotary Y-cut lithium niobate or lithium tantalate. The piezoelectric plate may be some other material and/or some other cutout. The substrate may be silicon. When the substrate is silicon, a layer of SiO may be disposed between the piezoelectric plate and the substrate₂. The substrate may be some other material that allows for the formation of deep cavities by etching or other processes.

In one variation of method 1300, one or more cavities are formed in the substrate at 1310A prior to bonding the piezoelectric plate to the substrate at 1330. A separate cavity may be formed for each resonator in the filter arrangement. The one or more cavities may be formed using conventional photolithography and etching techniques. For example, Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) may be used to form the cavities. Typically, the cavity formed at 1310A does not penetrate the substrate.

At 1330, the piezoelectric plates on the sacrificial substrate 1302 and the device substrate 1304 may be bonded. The piezoelectric plates on the sacrificial substrate 1302 and the device substrate 1304 may be bonded using a wafer bonding process, such as direct bonding, surface-activated or plasma-activated bonding, electrostatic bonding, or some other bonding technique. Prior to the wafer bonding process, the device substrate may be coated with a bonding layer, which may be SiO₂Or some other material.

After the sacrificial substrate 1302 and the piezoelectric plate on the device substrate 1304 are bonded, the sacrificial substrate and any intervening layers are removed at 1340 to expose the surface of the piezoelectric plate (the surface that previously faced the sacrificial substrate). For example, the sacrificial substrate may be removed by a material dependent wet or dry etch or some other process. The exposed surface of the piezoelectric plate may be polished or otherwise treated at 1340 to prepare the surface and control the thickness of the piezoelectric plate.

Conductor patterns and dielectric layers defining one or more XBAR devices are formed at 1350. Typically, the filter device will have two or more conductor layers deposited and patterned in sequence. The conductor layer may comprise pads, gold or solder bumps, or other means for establishing a connection between the device and an external circuit. The conductor layer may be, for example, aluminum, an aluminum alloy, copper, a copper alloy, molybdenum, tungsten, beryllium, gold, or some other conductive metal. Optionally, one or more layers of other materials may be disposed below the conductor layer (i.e., between the conductor layer and the piezoelectric plate) and/or above the conductor layer. For example, a thin film of titanium, chromium or other metal may be used to improve adhesion between the conductor layer and the piezoelectric plate. The conductor layer may comprise pads, gold or solder bumps, or other means for establishing a connection between the device and an external circuit.

A conductor pattern may be formed 1350 by depositing a conductor layer on the surface of the piezoelectric plate and removing excess metal by etching through the patterned photoresist. Alternatively, a lift-off process may be used to form the conductor pattern at 1350. A photoresist may be deposited on the piezoelectric plate and patterned to define a conductor pattern. The conductor layer may in turn be deposited on the surface of the piezoelectric plate. The photoresist may then be removed, removing excess material, leaving behind the conductor pattern.

At 1360, a half λ dielectric layer can be formed on the front side of the piezoelectric layer. The half lambda dielectric layer may be deposited on the conductor pattern or may be formed only between the fingers of the IDT. In some filter devices, a first dielectric layer may be deposited on/between the fingers of all IDTs and a second dielectric layer may be selectively formed on portions of the IDTs, e.g., only on the IDTs of the parallel resonators. The first dielectric layer is typically thicker than the second dielectric layer. The first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer may be the same or different materials. The first dielectric layer or the second dielectric layer may be deposited first.

In a second variation of process 1300, after all of the conductor patterns and dielectric layers are formed at 1350 and 1360, one or more cavities are formed at the back side of the substrate at 1310B. A separate cavity may be formed for each resonator in the filter arrangement. One or more cavities may be formed using an anisotropic or orientation dependent dry or wet etch to open a hole through the back side of the substrate to the piezoelectric plate.

In a third variation of process 1300, one or more cavities in the form of grooves may be formed in the substrate at 1310C by etching the substrate using an etchant introduced through openings in the piezoelectric plate and the half-lambda dielectric layer. A separate cavity may be formed for each resonator in the filter arrangement. The one or more cavities formed at 1310C do not penetrate the substrate.

In all variations of process 1300, the filter device is completed at 1370. Actions that may occur at 1370 include: depositing material such as SiO on all or part of the device₂Or Si₃O₄And/or if such placement is not performed at 1350, forming pads or solder bumps or other means for establishing a connection between the device and an external circuit. Other actions at 1370 may include cutting individual devices from a wafer containing multiple devices, other packaging steps, and testing. Another action that may occur at 1370 is to tune the resonant frequency of the resonator within the device by adding or removing metal or dielectric material on the front side of the device. After the filter device is completed, the process ends at 1395.

A variation of process 1300 begins with a single crystal piezoelectric wafer at 1302 instead of a thin piezoelectric plate on a sacrificial substrate of a different material. Ions are implanted to a controlled depth below the surface of the piezoelectric wafer (not shown in figure 13). The portion of the wafer from the surface to the depth of ion implantation is (or will be) a thin piezoelectric plate, with the remainder of the wafer being the sacrificial substrate. The piezoelectric wafer and the device substrate are bonded at 1330 as previously described. At 1340, the piezoelectric wafer may be split at the plane of the implanted ions (e.g., using thermal shock), exposing the sheet of piezoelectric material to the outside, and bonding it to the acoustic bragg reflector. The thickness of the thin plate piezoelectric material is determined in part by the energy (and depth) of the implanted ions. The process of ion implantation and subsequent separation of the sheets is commonly referred to as "ion slicing". After the piezoelectric wafer is cleaved, the exposed surface of the piezoelectric plate can be planarized and its thickness can be reduced using, for example, chemical mechanical polishing.

Concluding sentence

Throughout the specification, the embodiments and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than limitations on the apparatus and processes disclosed or claimed. Although many of the examples provided herein involve specific combinations of method acts or system elements, it should be understood that those acts and those elements may be combined in other ways to accomplish the same objectives. With regard to flow diagrams, additional steps and fewer steps may be taken, and the illustrated steps may be combined or further refined to implement the methods described herein. Acts, elements and features discussed only in connection with one embodiment are not intended to be excluded from a similar role in other embodiments.

As used herein, "plurality" refers to two or more. As used herein, a "set" of items may include one or more of such items. As used herein, the terms "comprising," "including," "carrying," "having," "containing," "involving," and the like, whether in the written detailed description or in the claims, are to be construed as open-ended, i.e., to mean including, but not limited to. With respect to the claims, the transition phrases "consisting of …" and "consisting essentially of …" alone are closed or semi-closed transition phrases. Ordinal terms such as "first," "second," "third," etc., used in the claims are used to modify a claim element and do not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a same name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements. As used herein, "and/or" means that the listed items are alternatives, but alternatives also include any combination of the listed items.