Ventsislav Yantchev

Micromachined thin film plate acoustic resonators utilizing the lowest order symmetric lamb wave mode

Thin film integrated circuits compatible resonant structures using the lowest order symmetric Lamb wave propagating in thin aluminum nitride (AlN) film membranes have been studied. The 2-mum thick, highly c-oriented AlN piezoelectric films have been grown on silicon by pulsed, direct-current magnetron reactive sputter deposition. The films were deposited at room temperature and had typical full-width, half-maximum value of the rocking curve of about 2 degrees. Thin film plate acoustic resonators were designed and micromachined using low resolution photolithography and deep silicon etching. Plate waves, having a 12-mum wavelength, were excited by means of both interdigital (IDT) and longitudinal wave transducers using lateral field excitation (LW-LFE), and reflected by periodical aluminum-strip gratings deposited on top of the membrane. The existence of a frequency stopband and strong grating reflectivity have been theoretically predicted and experimentally observed. One-port resonator designs having varying cavity lengths and transducer topology were fabricated and characterized. A quality factor exceeding 3000 has been demonstrated at frequencies of about 885 MHz. The IDT based film plate acoustic resonators (FPAR) technology proved to be preferable when lower costs and higher Qs are pursued. The LW-LFE-based FPAR technology offers higher excitation efficiency at costs comparable to that of the thin film bulk acoustic wave resonator (FBAR) technology

Lateral-field-excited thin-film Lamb wave resonator

The basic principles and technology for the development of lateral-field-excited Lamb acoustic wave resonators on sputter-deposited c-oriented thin aluminum nitride films are presented. The experimental results demonstrate that Lamb waves can be successfully used as an alternative to high-velocity surface acoustic waves.

Temperature compensation of liquid FBAR sensors

In this work we demonstrate a practically complete temperature compensation of the second harmonic shear mode in a composite Al/AlN/Al/SiO2 thin film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) in the temperature range 25 °C–95 °C. The main advantages of this mode are its higher Q value in liquids as well as its higher frequency and hence higher resolution for sensor applications. For comparative reasons the non-compensated fundamental shear mode is also included in these studies. Both modes have been characterized when operated both in air and in pure water. Properties such as Q value, electromechanical coupling, dissipation and sensitivity are studied. An almost complete temperature compensation of the second harmonic shear mode was observed for an oxide thickness of 1.22 µm for an FBAR consisting of 2 µm thick AlN and 200 nm thick Al electrodes. Thus, the measured temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) in air for the non-compensated fundamental shear mode (1.25 GHz) varied between −31 and −36 ppm °C−1 over the above temperature range while that of the compensated second harmonic shear mode (1.32 GHz) varied between +2 ppm °C−1 and −2 ppm °C−1 over the same temperature interval. When operated in pure water the former type shows a Q value and coupling coefficient, k2t, around 180 and 2%, respectively, whereas for the second harmonic these are 230 and 1.4%, respectively.

Micromachined One-Port Aluminum Nitride Lamb Wave Resonators Utilizing the Lowest-Order Symmetric Mode

The characteristics of one-port aluminum nitride (AlN) Lamb wave resonators utilizing the lowest-order symmetric mode with electrically open, grounded, and floating bottom electrode configurations are theoretically and experimentally investigated in this paper. Finite element analysis is performed to take an insight into the static capacitance characteristics of the AlN Lamb wave resonators with various bottom surface conditions. Without sacrificing the transduction efficiency, the floating bottom electrode is capable of reducing the static capacitance in the AlN thin plate and then promotes an efficient improvement in the effective coupling coefficient (k2eff). In addition, in comparison with the grounded bottom electrode, the employment of the floating bottom electrode offers simple fabrication processes for the micromachined Lamb wave resonators. Experimentally, the AlN Lamb wave resonators without the bottom electrode exhibit an average loaded quality factor (Q) as high as 2676 at the series resonance frequency, but a low average k2eff of 0.19%. On the contrary, the Lamb wave resonators with the electrically floating bottom electrode show the largest average k2eff up to 1.13% among the three topologies but a low average loaded Q of 800 at the series resonance frequency. In contrast to the floating bottom electrode, the Lamb wave resonators with the electrically grounded bottom electrode show a smaller average k2eff of 0.78% and a similar average loaded Q of 758 at the series resonance frequency.

A micromachined thermally compensated thin film Lamb wave resonator for frequency control and sensing applications

Micromachined thin film plate acoustic wave resonators (FPARs) utilizing the lowest order symmetric Lamb wave (S0) propagating in highly textured 2 µm thick aluminium nitride (AlN) membranes have been successfully demonstrated (Yantchev and Katardjiev 2007 IEEE Trans. Ultrason. Ferroelectr. Freq. Control 54 87–95). The proposed devices have a SAW-based design and exhibit Q factors of up to 3000 at a frequency around 900 MHz as well as design flexibility with respect to the required motional resistance. However, a notable drawback of the proposed devices is the non-zero temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) which lies in the range −20 ppm K−1 to −25 ppm K−1. Thus, despite the promising features demonstrated, further device optimization is required. In this work temperature compensation of thin AlN film Lamb wave resonators is studied and experimentally demonstrated. Temperature compensation while retaining at the same time the device electromechanical coupling is experimentally demonstrated. The zero TCF Lamb wave resonators are fabricated onto composite AlN/SiO2 membranes. Q factors of around 1400 have been measured at a frequency of around 755 MHz. Finally, the impact of technological issues on the device performance is discussed in view of improving the device performance.

Thin film Lamb wave resonators in frequency control and sensing applications: a review

This work makes an overview of the progress made during the last decade with regard to a novel class of piezoelectric microwave devices employing acoustic Lamb waves in micromachined thin film membranes. This class of devices is referred to as either thin film Lamb wave resonators or piezoelectric contour-mode resonators both employing thin film aluminum nitride membranes. These devices are of interest for applications in both frequency control and sensing. High quality factor Lamb wave resonators exhibiting low noise, low loss and thermally stable performance are demonstrated and their application in high resolution gravimetric and pressure sensors further discussed. A specific emphasis is put on the ability of these devices to operate in contact with liquids. Future research directions are further outlined.

SAW COM-parameter extraction in AlN/diamond layered structures

Highly c-axis oriented aluminum nitride (AlN) thin piezoelectric films have been grown on polycrystalline diamond substrates by pulsed direct current (DC) magnetron reactive sputter-deposition. The films were deposited at a substrate temperature below 50/spl deg/C (room temperature) and had a typical full width half maximum (FWHM) value of the rocking curve of the AlN-002-peak of 2.1 degrees. A variety of one-port surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators have been designed and fabricated on top of the AlN films. The measurements indicate that various SAW modes are excited. The SAW phase velocities of up to 11.800 m/s have been measured. These results are in agreement with calculated dispersion curves of the AlN/diamond structure. Finally, the coupling of modes parameters have been extracted from S/sub 11/ measurements using curve fitting for the first SAW mode, which indicate an effective coupling K/sup 2/ of 0.91% and a Q factor of about 600 at a frequency of 1050 MHz.

Propagation characteristics of the fundamental symmetric Lamb wave in thin aluminum nitride membranes with infinite gratings

A theoretical approach for the analysis of Lamb waves in grating configurations based on the Floquet-Bloch theorem is developed. Subsequently, it is applied for the prediction of the propagation characteristics of the fundamental symmetric Lamb wave (S0) propagating in thin c-oriented aluminum nitride (AlN) membranes with different types of aluminum grating configurations. The calculations indicate the existence of a frequency stop band exhibiting a complex behavior. The proposed analysis is to be used for the design and optimization of high velocity thin-film Lamb wave resonators. It can easily be adapted for the analysis of arbitrary Lamb waves in periodic gratings.

Quasistatic transduction of the fundamental symmetric Lamb mode in longitudinal wave transducers

The Green’s function formalism has been applied to the analysis of the fundamental symmetric Lamb mode excited by means of longitudinal wave (LW) transducers. The Lamb wave Green’s function has been related to the properties of the effective permittivity defined as a function of the wave slowness and the relative plate thickness. An electrostatic analysis that neglects the piezoelectric coupling is employed to relate the charge density to the applied voltage. This analysis is subsequently used to calculate the radiation conductance of a LW transducer. The results obtained are consistent with the equivalent circuit approach and define the device coupling as a function of the plate thickness and the intrinsic Lamb wave coupling.

On the applicability of high frequency acoustic shear mode biosensing in view of thickness limitations set by the film resonance

The IC-compatible thin film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) technology has made it possible to move the thickness excited shear mode sensing of biological layers into a new sensing regime using substantially higher operation frequencies than the conventionally used quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The limitations of the linear range set by the film resonance using viscoelastic protein films are here for the first time addressed specifically for FBARs operating at 700 MHz up to 1.5 GHz. Two types of protein multilayer sensing were employed; one utilizing alternating layers of streptavidin and biotinated BSA and the other using stepwise cross-linking of fibrinogen with EDC/NHS activation of its carboxyl groups. In both cases the number of protein layers within the linear regime is well above the number of protein layers usually used in biosensor applications, further verifying the applicability of the FBAR as a biosensor. Theoretical calculations are also presented using well established physical models to illustrate the expected behavior of the FBAR sensor, in view of both the frequency and the dissipation shifts.