Ultra-thin Super High Frequency two-port ALN contour-mode resonators and filters

Abstract

This paper reports on the demonstration of a new class of ultra-thin (250 nm thick) super high frequency (SHF) AlN piezoelectric two-port resonators and filters. A thickness field excitation scheme was employed to excite a higher order contour extensional mode of vibration in an AlN nano plate (250 nm thick) above 3 GHz and synthesize a 1.96 GHz narrow-bandwidth channel-select filter. The devices of this work are able to operate over a frequency range from 1.9 to 3.5 GHz and are employed to synthesize the highest frequency MEMS filter based on electrically self-coupled AlN contour-mode resonators. Very narrow bandwidth (0 .35%) and high off-band rejection (~ 35 dB) were achieved at an operating frequency of 1.96 GHz. This first prototype showed insertion loss of 11 dB, which can be improved to few dB if parasitic elements are eliminated or device capacitance is increased. This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Such permission of the IEEE does not in any way imply IEEE endorsement of any of the University of Pennsylvania's products or services. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to pubs-permissions@ieee.org. By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.This conference paper is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/ese_papers/523 ULTRA-THIN SUPER HIGH FREQUENCY TWO-PORT ALN CONTOUR-MODE RESONATORS AND FILTERSM. Rinaldi * , C. Zuniga, C. Zuo and G. Piazza University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA ABSTRACT This paper reports on the demonstration of a new class of ultra-thin (250 nm thick) Super High Frequency (SHF) AlN piezoelectric two-port resonators and filters. A thickness field excitation scheme was employed to excite a higher order contour extensional mode of vibration in an AlN nano plate (250 nm thick) above 3 GHz and synthesize a 1.96 GHz narrow-bandwidth channel-select filter. The devices of this work are able to operate over a frequency range from 1.9 to 3.5 GHz and are employed to synthesize the highest frequency MEMS filter based on electrically self-coupled AlN contour-mode resonators. Very narrow bandwidth (∼ 0.35%) and high off-band rejection (∼ 35 dB) were achieved at an operating frequency of 1.96 GHz. This first prototype showed insertion loss of 11 dB, which can be improved to few dB if parasitic elements are eliminated or device capacitance is increased.

High frequency Piezoelectric Resonant Nanochannel for bio-sensing applications in liquid environment

“…Recently, the capability to fabricate higher frequency (100 MHz -10 GHz) [5] resonant sensors with ultra-low values of limit of detection (LOD) in air [6,7] has been demonstrated employing the Nanoscaled AlN Contour Mode Resonant Sensor (CMR-S) technology.…”

AlN contour-mode resonators for narrow-band filters above 3 GHz

“…Because of the direct piezoelectric effect, charge is generated and collected by the sensing electrodes (output port). , and quality factor, Q [8].…”

Use of a single multiplexed CMOS oscillator as direct frequency read-out for an array of eight AlN Contour-Mode NEMS Resonant Sensors

“…It has been shown in [4,5] that when the resonant sensor is connected to a self-sustained oscillator loop for direct frequency readout, its performance, in terms of limit of detection, LOD (Eq. 3), can be improved by reducing the thickness, T, of the AlN layer up to the limit for which good phase noise is preserved (the minimum detectable frequency shift, Δf min , is in fact determined by the phase noise of the oscillator).…”

“…In this perspective, the employment of large surface area devices with nanoscaled thickness (such as nano-CMR-S) [4,5], instead of beams, is advantageous since it enables the fabrication of extremely low mass devices with power efficient transduction and read-out.…”