FILTER FOR 6 GHZ WI-FI USING TRANSVERSELY-EXCITED FILM BULK ACOUSTIC RESONATORS

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHTS AND TRADE DRESS

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. This patent document may show and/or describe matter which is or may become trade dress of the owner. The copyright and trade dress owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and trade dress rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND
Field

This disclosure relates to radio frequency filters using acoustic wave resonators, and specifically to filters for use in communications equipment.

Description of the Related Art

A radio frequency (RF) filter is a two-port device configured to pass some frequencies and to stop other frequencies, where “pass” means transmit with relatively low signal loss and “stop” means block or substantially attenuate. The range of frequencies passed by a filter is referred to as the “pass-band” of the filter. The range of frequencies stopped by such a filter is referred to as the “stop-band” of the filter. A typical RF filter has at least one pass-band and at least one stop-band. Specific requirements on a pass-band or stop-band depend on the specific application. For example, a “pass-band” may be defined as a frequency range where the insertion loss of a filter is better than a defined value such as 1 dB, 2 dB, or 3 dB. A “stop-band” may be defined as a frequency range where the rejection of a filter is greater than a defined value such as 20 dB, 30 dB, 40 dB, or greater depending on application.

RF filters are used in communications systems where information is transmitted over wireless links. For example, RF filters may be found in the RF front-ends of cellular base stations, mobile telephone and computing devices, satellite transceivers and ground stations, IoT (Internet of Things) devices, laptop computers and tablets, fixed point radio links, and other communications systems. RF filters are also used in radar and electronic and information warfare systems.

RF filters typically require many design trade-offs to achieve, for each specific application, the best compromise between performance parameters such as insertion loss, rejection, isolation, power handling, linearity, size and cost. Specific design and manufacturing methods and enhancements can benefit simultaneously one or several of these requirements.

Performance enhancements to the RF filters in a wireless system can have broad impact to system performance. Improvements in RF filters can be leveraged to provide system performance improvements such as larger cell size, longer battery life, higher data rates, greater network capacity, lower cost, enhanced security, higher reliability, etc. These improvements can be realized at many levels of the wireless system both separately and in combination, for example at the RF module, RF transceiver, mobile or fixed sub-system, or network levels.

High performance RF filters for present communication systems commonly incorporate acoustic wave resonators including surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators, bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators, film bulk acoustic wave resonators (FBAR), and other types of acoustic resonators. However, these existing technologies are not well-suited for use at the higher frequencies and bandwidths proposed for future communications networks.

The desire for wider communication channel bandwidths will inevitably lead to the use of higher frequency communications bands. Radio access technology for mobile telephone networks has been standardized by the 3GPP (3^rdGeneration Partnership Project). Radio access technology for 5^thgeneration mobile networks is defined in the 5G NR (new radio) standard. The 5G NR standard defines several new communications bands. Two of these new communications bands are n77, which uses the frequency range from 3300 MHz to 4200 MHz, and n79, which uses the frequency range from 4400 MHz to 5000 MHz. Both band n77 and band n79 use time-division duplexing (TDD), such that a communications device operating in band n77 and/or band n79 uses the same frequencies for both uplink and downlink transmissions. Bandpass filters for bands n77 and n79 must be capable of handling the transmit power of the communications device. Wi-Fi™ bands at 5 GHz and 6 GHz also require high frequency and wide bandwidth. The 5G NR standard also defines millimeter wave communication bands with frequencies between 24.25 GHz and 40 GHz.

The Transversely-Excited Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator (XBAR) is an acoustic resonator structure for use in microwave filters. The XBAR is described in U.S. Pat. No. 10,491,291, titled TRANSVERSELY EXCITED FILM BULK ACOUSTIC RESONATOR. An XBAR resonator comprises an interdigital transducer (IDT) at least partially disposed on a thin floating layer, or diaphragm which is or includes a layer of a single-crystal piezoelectric material. The IDT includes a first set of parallel fingers, extending from a first busbar and a second set of parallel fingers extending from a second busbar. The first and second sets of parallel fingers are interleaved. A microwave signal applied to the IDT excites a shear primary acoustic wave in the piezoelectric diaphragm. XBAR resonators provide very high electromechanical coupling and high frequency capability. XBAR resonators may be used in a variety of RF filters including band-reject filters, band-pass filters, duplexers, and multiplexers. XBARs are well suited for use in filters for communications bands with frequencies above 3 GHz.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary band-pass filter.

FIG. 2 has a schematic plan view and two schematic cross-sectional views of a transversely-excited film bulk acoustic resonator (XBAR).

FIG. 3 is an expanded schematic cross-sectional view of a portion of the XBAR of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a graphic illustrating a shear primary acoustic mode in an XBAR.

FIG. 5 is a graph of the resonance frequency of an XBAR as a function of piezoelectric plate thickness for four different dielectric thicknesses.

FIG. 6 is a graph of the resonance frequency of an XBAR as a function of equivalent diaphragm thickness for four different dielectric thicknesses.

FIG. 7 is a graph of the anti-resonance frequency of an XBAR as a function of piezoelectric plate thickness for four different dielectric thicknesses.

FIG. 8 is a graph of the anti-resonance frequency of an XBAR as a function of equivalent diaphragm thickness for four different dielectric thicknesses.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary band-pass filter for 6 GHz Wi-Fi.

FIG. 10 is a graph of the magnitude of the input/output transfer function S21 for the exemplary band-pass filter of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of a process for fabricating an XBAR or a filter incorporating XBARs.

Throughout this description, elements appearing in figures are assigned three-digit or four-digit reference designators, where the two least significant digits are specific to the element and the one or two most significant digit is the figure number where the element is first introduced. An element that is not described in conjunction with a figure may be presumed to have the same characteristics and function as a previously-described element having the same reference designator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Description of Apparatus

FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of an exemplary band-pass filter 100 using five XBARs X1-X5. The filter 100 may be, for example, a band-pass filter for use in a communication device. The filter 100 has a conventional ladder filter architecture including three series resonators X1, X3, X5 and two shunt resonators X2, X4. The three series resonators X1, X3, X5 are connected in series between a first port P1 and a second port P2. The filter 100 is bidirectional and either port may serve as the input or output of the filter. The two shunt resonators X2, X4 are connected from nodes between the series resonators to ground. All the shunt resonators and series resonators may be XBARs.

Each of the resonators X1 to X5 has a resonance frequency and an anti-resonance frequency. In over-simplified terms, each resonator is effectively a short circuit at its resonance frequency and effectively an open circuit at its anti-resonance frequency. Each resonator X1 to X5 creates a “transmission zero”, where the transmission between the in and out ports is very low. Note that the transmission at a “transmission zero” is not actually zero due to energy leakage through parasitic components and other effects. The three series resonators X1, X3, X5 create transmission zeros at their respective anti-resonance frequencies (where each resonator is effectively an open circuit). The two shunt resonators X2, X4 create transmission zeros at their respective resonance frequencies (where each resonator is effectively a short circuit). In a typical band-pass filter using acoustic resonators, resonance frequencies of the shunt resonators are positioned below the passband of the filter and the anti-resonance frequencies of the shunt resonators are within the passband. Resonance frequencies of the series resonators are within the passband and the anti-resonance frequencies of the series resonators are positioned above the passband.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the structure of XBARs will be described in further detail. FIG. 2 shows a simplified schematic top view and orthogonal cross-sectional views of an XBAR 200. The XBAR 200 is made up of a thin film conductor pattern formed on a surface of a piezoelectric plate 210 having a front surface 212 and a back surface 214. The front and back surfaces are essentially parallel. “Essentially parallel” means parallel to the extent possible with normal manufacturing tolerances. The piezoelectric plate is a thin single-crystal layer of a piezoelectric material such as lithium niobate, lithium tantalate, lanthanum gallium silicate, gallium nitride, or aluminum nitride. The piezoelectric plate is cut such that the orientation of the X, Y, and Z crystalline axes with respect to the front and back surfaces is known and consistent. In the examples presented in this patent, the piezoelectric plates are rotated YX-cut. However, XBARs may be fabricated on piezoelectric plates with other crystallographic orientations including rotated Z-cut and rotated Z-cut.

The back surface 214 of the piezoelectric plate 210 is attached to a surface 222 of the substrate 220 except for a portion of the piezoelectric plate 210 that forms a diaphragm 215 spanning a cavity 240 formed in the substrate 220. The cavity 240 has a perimeter defined by the intersection of the cavity and the surface 222 of the substrate 220. The portion of the piezoelectric plate that spans the cavity is referred to herein as the “diaphragm” due to its physical resemblance to the diaphragm of a microphone. As shown in FIG. 2, the diaphragm 215 is contiguous with the rest of the piezoelectric plate 210 around all of the perimeter 245 of the cavity 240. In this context, “contiguous” means “continuously connected without any intervening item”.

The substrate 220 provides mechanical support to the piezoelectric plate 210. The substrate 220 may be, for example, silicon, sapphire, quartz, or some other material or combination of materials. The back surface 214 of the piezoelectric plate 210 may be attached to the substrate 220 using a wafer bonding process. Alternatively, the piezoelectric plate 210 may be grown on the substrate 220 or otherwise attached to the substrate. The piezoelectric plate 210 may be attached directly to the substrate or may be attached to the substrate 220 via one or more intermediate material layers.

The cavity 240 is an empty space within a solid body of the resonator 200. The cavity 240 may be a hole completely through the substrate 220 (as shown in Section A-A and Section B-B) or a recess in the substrate 220 (not shown). The cavity 240 may be formed, for example, by selective etching of the substrate 220 before or after the piezoelectric plate 210 and the substrate 220 are attached.

The conductor pattern of the XBAR 200 includes an interdigital transducer (IDT) 230. An IDT is an electrode structure for converting between electrical and acoustic energy in piezoelectric devices. The IDT 230 includes a first plurality of parallel elongated conductors, commonly called “fingers”, such as finger 236, extending from a first busbar 232. The IDT 230 includes a second plurality of fingers extending from a second busbar 234. The first and second pluralities of parallel fingers are interleaved. The interleaved fingers overlap for a distance AP, commonly referred to as the “aperture” of the IDT. The center-to-center distance L between the outermost fingers of the IDT 230 is the “length” of the IDT.

The term “busbar” refers to the conductors that interconnect the first and second sets of fingers in an IDT. As shown in FIG. 2, each busbar 232, 234 is an elongated rectangular conductor with a long axis orthogonal to the interleaved fingers and having a length approximately equal to the length L of the IDT. The busbars of an IDT need not be rectangular or orthogonal to the interleaved fingers and may have lengths longer than the length of the IDT.

The first and second busbars 232, 234 serve as the terminals of the XBAR 200. A radio frequency or microwave signal applied between the two busbars 232, 234 of the IDT 230 excites a primary acoustic mode within the piezoelectric plate 210. As will be discussed in further detail, the primary acoustic mode is a bulk shear mode where acoustic energy propagates along a direction substantially orthogonal to the surface of the piezoelectric plate 210, which is also normal, or transverse, to the direction of the electric field created by the IDT fingers. Thus, the XBAR is considered a transversely-excited film bulk wave resonator.

The IDT 230 is positioned on the piezoelectric plate 210 such that at least a substantial portion of the fingers of the IDT 230 are disposed on the diaphragm 215 of the piezoelectric plate that spans, or is suspended over, the cavity 240. As shown in FIG. 2, the cavity 240 has a rectangular shape with an extent greater than the aperture AP and length L of the IDT 230. A cavity of an XBAR may have a different shape, such as a regular or irregular polygon. The cavity of an XBAR may have more or fewer than four sides, which may be straight or curved.

For ease of presentation in FIG. 2, the geometric pitch and width of the IDT fingers is greatly exaggerated with respect to the length (dimension L) and aperture (dimension AP) of the XBAR. An XBAR for a 5G device will have more than ten parallel fingers in the IDT 210. An XBAR may have hundreds, possibly thousands, of parallel fingers in the IDT 210. Similarly, the thickness of the fingers in the cross-sectional views is greatly exaggerated in the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed schematic cross-sectional view of the XBAR 200. The piezoelectric plate 210 is a single-crystal layer of piezoelectric material having a thickness ts. ts may be, for example, 100 nm to 1500 nm. When used in filters for 5G NR and WiFi bands from 3.3 GHZ to 7 GHz, the thickness ts may be, for example, 250 nm to 700 nm.

A front-side dielectric layer 314 may be formed on the front side of the piezoelectric plate 210. The “front side” of the XBAR is the surface facing away from the substrate. The front-side dielectric layer 314 has a thickness tfd. The front-side dielectric layer 314 may be formed only between the IDT fingers (see IDT finger 338a). The front side dielectric layer 314 may also be deposited over the IDT fingers (see IDT finger 338b). A back-side dielectric layer 316 may be formed on the back side of the piezoelectric plate 210. The back-side dielectric layer 316 has a thickness tbd. The front-side and back-side dielectric layers 314, 316 may be a non-piezoelectric dielectric material, such as silicon dioxide or silicon nitride. tfd and tbd may be, for example, 0 to 500 nm. tfd and tbd are each typically less than one-half of the thickness is of the piezoelectric plate. tfd and tbd are not necessarily equal, and the front-side and back-side dielectric layers 314, 316 are not necessarily the same material. Either or both of the front-side and back-side dielectric layers 314, 316 may be formed of multiple layers of two or more materials.

The IDT fingers 338a, 338b may be one or more layers of aluminum, a substantially aluminum alloy, copper, a substantially copper alloy, beryllium, gold, molybdenum, or some other conductive material. Thin (relative to the total thickness of the conductors) layers of other metals, such as 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 busbars (232, 234 in FIG. 2) of the IDT may be made of the same or different materials as the fingers. As shown in FIG. 3, the IDT fingers 338a, 338b have rectangular or trapezoidal cross-sections. The IDT fingers may have some other cross-sectional shape.

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 “mark” of the IDT fingers. The IDT of an XBAR differs substantially from the IDTs used in surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators. In a SAW resonator, the pitch of the IDT is one-half of the acoustic wavelength at the resonance frequency. Additionally, the mark-to-pitch ratio of a SAW resonator IDT is typically close to 0.5 (i.e., the mark or finger width is about one-fourth of the acoustic wavelength at resonance). In an XBAR, the pitch p of the IDT is typically 2 to 20 times the width w of the fingers. In addition, the pitch p of the IDT is typically 2 to 20 times the thickness tp of the piezoelectric plate 210. The width of the IDT fingers in an XBAR is not constrained to one-fourth of the acoustic wavelength at resonance. For example, the width of XBAR IDT fingers may be 500 nm or greater, such that the IDT can be fabricated using optical lithography. The thickness tm of the IDT fingers may be from 100 nm to about equal to the width w. The thickness of the busbars (232, 234 in FIG. 2) of the IDT may be the same as, or greater than, the thickness tm of the IDT fingers.

FIG. 4 is a graphical illustration of the primary acoustic mode of interest in an XBAR. FIG. 4 shows a small portion of an XBAR 400 including a piezoelectric plate 410 and three interleaved IDT fingers 430. A radio frequency (RF) voltage is applied to the interleaved fingers 430. This voltage creates a time-varying electric field between the fingers. The direction of the electric field is primarily lateral, or parallel to the surface of the piezoelectric plate 410, as indicated by the arrows labeled “electric field”. Since the dielectric constant of the piezoelectric plate is significantly higher than the surrounding air, the electric field is highly concentrated in the plate relative to the air. The lateral electric field introduces shear deformation, and thus strongly excites a shear-mode acoustic mode, in the piezoelectric plate 410. Shear deformation is deformation in which parallel planes in a material remain parallel and maintain a constant distance while translating relative to each other. A “shear acoustic mode” is an acoustic vibration mode in a medium that results in shear deformation of the medium. The shear deformations in the XBAR 400 are represented by the curves 460, with the adjacent small arrows providing a schematic indication of the direction and magnitude of atomic motion. The degree of atomic motion, as well as the thickness of the piezoelectric plate 410, have been greatly exaggerated for ease of visualization. While the atomic motions are predominantly lateral (i.e., horizontal as shown in FIG. 4), the direction of acoustic energy flow of the excited primary shear acoustic mode is substantially orthogonal to the surface of the piezoelectric plate, as indicated by the arrow 465.

An acoustic resonator based on shear acoustic wave resonances can achieve better performance than current state-of-the art film-bulk-acoustic-resonators (FBAR) and solidly-mounted-resonator bulk-acoustic-wave (SMR BAW) devices where the electric field is applied in the thickness direction. In such devices, the acoustic mode is compressive with atomic motions and the direction of acoustic energy flow in the thickness direction. In addition, the piezoelectric coupling for shear wave XBAR resonances can be high (>20%) compared to other acoustic resonators. High piezoelectric coupling enables the design and implementation of microwave and millimeter-wave filters with appreciable bandwidth.

The resonance frequency of an XBAR is determined by the thickness of the diaphragm and the pitch and mark (width) of the IDT fingers. The thickness of the diaphragm, which includes the thickness of the piezoelectric plate and the thicknesses of front-side and/or back-side dielectric layers, is the dominant factor determining the resonance frequency. The tuning range provided by varying the pitch and/or mark is limited to only a few percent. For broad bandwidth filters such as band-pass filter for 5G NR bands n77 and n79, 5 GHz Wi-Fi and 6 GHz Wi-Fi, the tuning range provided by varying the IDT pitch and finger width is insufficient to provide the necessary separation between the resonance frequencies of the shunt and the anti-resonance frequencies of the series resonators.

FIG. 5 is graph 500 of the relationship between the resonance frequency, piezoelectric plate thickness, and top-side dielectric thickness for representative XBARs using lithium niobate piezoelectric plates with Euler angles of [0°, β, 0° ], where 0°<β≤60°, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 10,790,802. For historical reasons, such plates are commonly referred to as “rotated YX-cut” where the “rotation angle” is β+90°.

The solid line 510 is a plot of the dependence of resonance frequency on piezoelectric plate thickness without a front-side. The short-dash line 520 is a plot of the dependence of resonance frequency on piezoelectric plate thickness with a front-side dielectric layer thickness of 30 nm. The dot-dash line 530 is a plot of the dependence of resonance frequency on piezoelectric plate thickness with a front-side dielectric layer thickness of 60 nm. The long-dash line 540 is a plot of the dependence of resonance frequency on piezoelectric plate thickness with a front-side dielectric layer thickness of 90 nm. In all cases, the piezoelectric plate is 128-degree YX-cut lithium niobate, the IDT pitch is 10 times the piezoelectric plate thickness, the mark/pitch ratio is 0.25, and the IDT electrodes are aluminum with a thickness of 1.25 times the piezoelectric plate thickness. The dielectric layers are SiO₂. There is no back-side dielectric layer.

The dash-dot-dot line 550 marks the lower edge of the 6 GHz Wi-Fi bands at 5.935 GHz. The dash-dot-dot line 555 marks the upper edge of the 6 GHz Wi-Fi bands at 7.12 GHz. The solid dot 560 represents the shunt resonators of an exemplary filter that will be described in further detail subsequently. The solid dot 565 represents the series resonators of the exemplary filter. Note that the resonance frequencies of the shunt resonator (solid dot 550) are several hundred MHz below the lower edge of the 6 GHz Wi-Fi bands and the resonance frequencies of the series resonators are between the upper and lower edges (i.e., within the passband of the exemplary filter).

From FIG. 5 it can also be seen that, at 6 GHz, a 90 mm layer of SiO₂has the same effect on resonance frequency as roughly a 55 nm change in the thickness of the lithium niobate piezoelectric plate. The thicknesses of the lithium niobate piezoelectric plate and the front-side SiO₂layer can be combined to provide an equivalent thickness of the XBAR diaphragm as follows:

teqr=tp+kr(tfsd) (1)

where teqr is the “LN-equivalent” thickness (i.e., the thickness of lithium niobate having the same resonance frequency) of the diaphragm for shunt resonators. tp and tfsd are the thickness of the piezoelectric plate and front-side dielectric layer as previously defined, and kr is proportionally constant for shunt resonators. kr depends on the material of the front-side dielectric layer. When the front-side dielectric layer is SiO₂, kr is approximately 0.57.

FIG. 6 is a graph 600 of the dependence of resonance frequency on LN-equivalent diaphragm thickness. The data shown in FIG. 6 is the same as the data shown in FIG. 5, with LN-equivalent thickness calculated using formula (1) with k=0.57. The composite line 610 is made up of the resonance frequency data points for four different dielectric (oxide) thicknesses. These data points form a reasonably continuous curve.

The dash-dot-dot lines 650 marks the lower edge of the 6 GHz Wi-Fi bands at 5.935 GHz. The dash-dot-dot line 655 marks the upper edge of the 6 GHz Wi-Fi bands at 7.12 GHz. The solid dot 660 represents the shunt resonators of the exemplary filter. The solid dot 665 represents the series resonators of the exemplary filter.

The data in FIG. 6 is specific to XBARs with the IDT pitch equal to 10 times the piezoelectric plate thickness. A preferred range of the pitch of an XBAR is 6 to 12.5 times the IDT pitch. Electromechanical coupling decreases sharply for pitch less than 6 time the piezoelectric plate thickness, reducing the difference between the resonance and anti-resonance frequencies. Increasing the pitch above 12.5 times the piezoelectric plate thickness reduces capacitance per unit resonator area with little benefit in terms of electromechanical coupling or frequency change.

Reducing the pitch to 6 times the piezoelectric plate thickness increases resonance frequency by about 4.5% compared to an XBAR with pitch equal to 10 times the piezoelectric plate thickness. Increasing the pitch to 12.5 times the piezoelectric plate thickness reduces resonance frequency by about 1.1% compared to an XBAR with pitch equal to 10 times the piezoelectric plate thickness. Conversely, an XBAR with pitch equal to 6 times the piezoelectric plate thickness will need a 4.5% thicker diaphragm to have the same resonance frequency as an XBAR with pitch equal to 10 times the piezoelectric plate thickness. An XBAR with pitch equal to 12.5 times the piezoelectric plate thickness will need a 1.1% thinner diaphragm to have the same resonance frequency as an XBAR with pitch equal to 10 times the piezoelectric plate thickness.

FIG. 6 shows that, in order for the resonance frequencies of shunt resonators to be below the lower edge of the passband (line 650), the LN-equivalent diaphragm thickness of shunt resonators must be greater than 310 nm. The actual LN-equivalent diaphragm thickness of shunt resonators is determined by multiple factors including the required band-edge sharpness, the Q-factor of the shunt resonators, required operating temperature range, and allowance for manufacturing tolerances. The LN-equivalent diaphragm thickness may be 320 nm to 340 nm.

The LN-equivalent thickness of the diaphragm of the shunt resonators need not be the same. One or more additional dielectric layer may be formed over a subset of the shunt resonators to further lower their resonance frequencies (for example to increase attenuation in a stop band below the lower band edge). While there is no absolute upper limit on the thickness of a front-side dielectric layer, XBARs with tfsd/tp>0.30 tend to have substantial spurious modes.

The anti-resonance frequency of an XBAR is determined by the resonance frequency (which depends on the thickness of the diaphragm and the pitch and width of the IDT fingers) and the electromechanical coupling of the resonator. Electromechanical coupling is primarily determined by the cut angle of the piezoelectric material, the thickness of dielectric layers if present, and the pitch of the IDT. FIG. 7 is a graph 700 of the relationship between the anti-resonance frequency, piezoelectric plate thickness, and top-side dielectric thickness for representative XBARs. In all cases, the piezoelectric plate is 128-degree YX-cut lithium niobate, the IDT pitch is 10 times the piezoelectric plate thickness, the mark/pitch ratio is 0.25, and the IDT electrodes are aluminum with a thickness of 1.25 times the piezoelectric plate thickness. The dielectric layers are SiO₂. There is no back-side dielectric layer.

The solid line 710 is a plot of the dependence of anti-resonance frequency on piezoelectric plate thickness without a front-side dielectric layer. The short-dash line 720 is a plot of the dependence of anti-resonance frequency on piezoelectric plate thickness with a front-side dielectric layer thickness of 30 nm. The dot-dash line 730 is a plot of the dependence of anti-resonance frequency on piezoelectric plate thickness with a front-side dielectric layer thickness of 60 nm. The long-dash line 740 is a plot of the dependence of anti-resonance frequency on piezoelectric plate thickness with a front-side dielectric layer thickness of 90 nm.

The dash-dot-dot lines 750 marks the lower edge of the 6 GHz Wi-Fi bands at 5.935 GHz. The dash-dot-dot line 755 marks the upper edge of the 6 GHz Wi-Fi bands at 7.12 GHz. The solid dot 760 represents the shunt resonators of the exemplary filter. The solid dot 765 represents the series resonators of the exemplary filter.

Reducing the pitch to 6 times the piezoelectric plate thickness increases anti-resonance frequency by about 3.2% compared to an XBAR with pitch equal to 10 times the piezoelectric plate thickness. Increasing the pitch to 12.5 times the piezoelectric plate thickness reduces anti-resonance frequency by about 1.0% compared to an XBAR with pitch equal to 10 times the piezoelectric plate thickness. An XBAR with pitch equal to 6 times the piezoelectric plate thickness will need a 3.2% thicker diaphragm to have the same anti-resonance frequency as an XBAR with pitch equal to 10 times the piezoelectric plate thickness.

As previously described, in a ladder filter circuit, series resonators provide transmission zeros at frequencies above the upper edge of the filter passband. To this end, the anti-resonance frequencies of the series resonators of a 6 GHz Wi-Fi filter must be greater than 5120 MHz. Exactly how much greater than 5120 MHz depends on the filter specifications, the Q-factors of the series resonators, and allowances for manufacturing tolerances and temperature variations including temperature increases due to power consumed in the filter during transmission.

The thicknesses of the lithium niobate piezoelectric plate and the front-side SiO₂layer can be combined to provide an equivalent thickness of the XBAR diaphragm as follows:

teqa=tp+ka(tfsd) (1)

where teqa is the “LN-equivalent” thickness (i.e., the thickness of lithium niobate having the same anti-resonance frequency) of the diaphragm for series resonators. tp and tfsd are the thickness of the piezoelectric plate and front-side dielectric layer as previously defined, and ka is proportionally constant for series resonators. ka depends on the material of the front-side dielectric layer. When the front-side dielectric layer is SiO₂, ka is approximately 0.45.

FIG. 8 is a graph 800 of the dependence of anti-resonance frequency on LN-equivalent diaphragm thickness. The data shown in FIG. 8 is the same as the data shown in FIG. 7, with LN-equivalent thickness calculated using formula (1) with ka=0.45. The composite line 810 is made up of the anti-resonance frequency data points for four different dielectric thicknesses. These data points form a reasonably continuous curve, except for the combination of 90 nm front-side dielectric on relatively thin piezoelectric substrates.

FIG. 8 shows that, in order for the anti-resonance frequencies of series resonators to be above the upper lower edge of the passband (line 855), the LN-equivalent diaphragm thickness of series resonators must be less than 305 nm. The actual LN-equivalent diaphragm thickness of series resonators is determined by multiple factors including the required band-edge sharpness, the Q-factor of the series resonators, required operating temperature range, and allowance for manufacturing tolerances. The LN-equivalent diaphragm thickness may typically be less than 295 nm.

The LN-equivalent thickness of the diaphragm of the series resonators need not be the same. One or more additional dielectric layer may be formed over a subset of the series resonators to further lower their resonance frequencies (for example to increase attenuation in a stop band below the lower band edge).

FIG. 9 is a schematic circuit diagram of an exemplary band 6 GHz Wi-Fi band-pass filter 900 using four series resonators Se1, Se2, Se3, Se4 and four shunt resonators Sh1, Sh2, Sh3, Sh4. The filter 900 has a conventional ladder filter architecture. The four series resonators Se1, Se2, Se3, Se4 are connected in series between a first port P1 and a second port P2. The filter 900 is bidirectional and either port may serve as the input or output of the filter. Shunt resonator Sh1 is connected from port P1 to ground. The other three shunt resonators Sh2, Sh3, Sh4, are connected from nodes between the series resonators to ground. All the shunt resonators and series resonators are composed of multiple XBAR sub-resonators. The number of sub-resonators is indicated below the reference designator (e.g., “×4”) of each resonator. Resonators composed of four sub-resonators, such as resonator Se3, are connected is an series/parallel combination as shown in the detail schematic diagram of sub-resonators Se3A, Se3B, Se3C, and Se3D. Resonators composed of two sub-resonators, such as resonator Sh3, have the two sub-resonators connected in parallel as shown in the detail schematic diagram of sub-resonators Sh3A and Sh3B. Dividing an XBAR into multiple sub-resonators has a primary benefit of reducing the peak stress that would occur if each XBAR had a single large diaphragm. The multiple sub-resonators of each resonator typically, but not necessarily, have the same aperture and approximately the same length.

The pitch and mark of the sub-resonators comprising any of the series or shunt resonators are not necessarily the same. As shown in the detailed schematic diagram, series resonator Se3 is composed of four sub-resonators Se3A, Se3B, Se3C, Se3D. Each of the sub-resonators Se3A-Se3D may have a unique mark and pitch, which is to say the mark and pitch of any sub-resonator is different from the mark and pitch of each other sub-resonator. Further, the pitch and mark of each sub-resonator is not necessarily constant over the length of the IDT of the sub-resonator.

Small variations (e.g., ±1%) in pitch within the IDT of an XBAR may reduce the amplitude of spurious modes. The small variations in pitch shift the frequencies of spurious modes such that the spurious modes do not add constructively over the area of the XBAR. These small pitch variations have a negligible effect on the resonance and anti-resonance frequencies. The small changes in pitch between the sub-resonators Se3A, Se3B, Se3C, Se3D have a similar effect. The spurious modes of the sub-resonators do not add, resulting in lower overall spurious mode amplitude. All the series resonators Se1, Se2, Se3, Se4 may have the IDT pitch and/or mark varied between sub-resonators and/or within sub-resonators.

The filter 900 uses a dielectric frequency setting layer, represented by the dashed rectangle 920, to offset the resonance frequencies of the shunt resonators from the resonance frequencies of the series resonators. The series Se1-Se4 have a thin dielectric layer or no dielectric layer and the shunt resonators Sh1-Sh4 include a thicker dielectric layer. The difference in dielectric layer thickness lowers the resonance frequencies of the shunt resonators with respect to the resonance frequencies of the series resonators.

The filter 900 is exemplary, and other filters designs using more or fewer resonators are possible. A 6 GHz Wi-Fi bandpass filter will include at least two series resonators and at least two shunt resonators.

FIG. 10 is a graph of the performance of an exemplary 6 GHz Wi-Fi bandpass filter, which may be, or be similar to, the filter 900 of FIG. 9. Specifically, the curve 1010 is a plot of the magnitude of the input/output transfer function S21 of the exemplary filter over a frequency range from 5 GHz to 8.5 GHz. The passband of the exemplary filter encompasses the 6 GHz Wi-Fi bands from 5.935 GHz to 7.12 GHz.

The physical characteristics of the exemplary filter are as follows:

- piezoelectric plate: 128° YX cut lithium niobate;

piezoelectric plate thickness: 276 nm;

- front side dielectric: SiO₂;

frontside dielectric thickness: 0 (series resonators);

frontside dielectric thickness: 86 nm (shunt resonators);

LN-equivalent diaphragm thickness: 276 nm (series resonators);

LN-equivalent diaphragm thickness: 325 nm (shunt resonators);

- IDT fingers: 360 nm, substantially aluminum;

IDT pitch/piezoelectric plate thickness: 10.6-11.1;

- IDT finger width/pitch: 0.18-0.24.

Description of Methods

FIG. 12 is a simplified flow chart showing a process 1200 for making a wafer with a plurality of chips containing XBARs. The process 1200 starts at 1205 with a device substrate and a plate of piezoelectric material attached to a sacrificial substrate. The process 1200 ends at 1295 with a plurality of completed XBAR chips. The flow chart of FIG. 12 includes only major process steps. Various conventional process steps (e.g., surface preparation, cleaning, inspection, baking, annealing, monitoring, testing, etc.) may be performed before, between, after, and during the steps shown in FIG. 12. With the exception of step 1280, all of the actions are performed concurrently on all chips on the wafer.

The flow chart of FIG. 12 captures three variations of the process 1200 for making an XBAR which differ in when and how cavities are formed in the device substrate. The cavities may be formed at steps 1210A, 1210B, or 1210C. Only one of these steps is performed in each of the three variations of the process 1200.

The piezoelectric plate may be, for example, rotated YX-cut lithium niobate. The piezoelectric plate may be some other material and/or some other cut. The substrate may preferably be silicon. The substrate may be some other material that allows formation of deep cavities by etching or other processing.

In one variation of the process 1200, one or more cavities are formed in the device substrate at 1210A before the piezoelectric plate is bonded to the substrate at 1215. A separate cavity may be formed for each resonator on the chip. The one or more cavities may be formed using conventional photolithographic and etching techniques. Typically, the cavities formed at 1210A will not penetrate through the device substrate.

At 1215, the piezoelectric plate is bonded to the device substrate. The piezoelectric plate and the substrate may be bonded by a wafer bonding process. Typically, the mating surfaces of the substrate and the piezoelectric plate are highly polished. One or more layers of intermediate materials, such as an oxide or metal, may be formed or deposited on the mating surface of one or both of the piezoelectric plate and the substrate. One or both mating surfaces may be activated using, for example, a plasma process. The mating surfaces may then be pressed together with considerable force to establish molecular bonds between the piezoelectric plate and the substrate or intermediate material layers.

The sacrificial substrate may be removed at 1220, exposing a front surface of the piezoelectric plate. The actions at 1220 may include further processes, such as polishing and/or annealing, to prepare the exposed surface for subsequent process steps.

A conductor pattern, including IDTs of each XBAR, is formed at 1230 by depositing and patterning one or more conductor layers on the front surface of the piezoelectric plate. The conductor layer may be, for example, aluminum or an aluminum alloy with a thickness of 50 nm to 150 nm. Optionally, one or more layers of other materials may be disposed below (i.e., between the conductor layer and the piezoelectric plate) and/or on top of the conductor layer. For example, a thin film of titanium, chrome, or other metal may be used to improve the adhesion between the conductor layer and the piezoelectric plate. A conduction enhancement layer of gold, aluminum, copper or other higher conductivity metal may be formed over portions of the conductor pattern (for example the IDT busbars and interconnections between the IDTs).

The conductor pattern may be formed at 1230 by depositing the conductor layer and, optionally, one or more other metal layers in sequence over the surface of the piezoelectric plate. The excess metal may then be removed by etching through patterned photoresist. The conductor layer can be etched, for example, by plasma etching, reactive ion etching, wet chemical etching, and other etching techniques.

Alternatively, the conductor pattern may be formed at 1230 using a lift-off process. Photoresist may be deposited over the piezoelectric plate. and patterned to define the conductor pattern. The conductor layer and, optionally, one or more other layers may be deposited in sequence over the surface of the piezoelectric plate. The photoresist may then be removed, which removes the excess material, leaving the conductor pattern.

One or more optional frequency setting dielectric layers may be formed at 1240 by depositing and patterning one or more dielectric layers on the front surface of the piezoelectric plate. The dielectric layer(s) may be formed between, and optionally over, the IDT fingers of some, but not all XBARs. The frequency setting dielectric layer(s) are typically SiO₂, but may be Si₃N₄, Al₂O₃, or some other dielectric material. The thickness of each frequency setting dielectric layer is determined by the desire frequency shift. In the example of FIG. 8 and FIG. 10, a frequency setting dielectric layer 40 nm thick is formed over the IDTs of XBARs SE1, SE2, and SE3.

A passivation/tuning dielectric layer is formed at 1250 by depositing a dielectric material over all of the front surface of the piezoelectric plate except pads used for electric connections to circuitry external to the chip. The passivation/tuning layer may be SiO₂, Si₃N₄, Al₂O₃, some other dielectric material, or a combination of two or more materials. The thickness of passivation/tuning layer is determined by the minimum amount of dielectric material required to deal the surface of the chip plus the amount of sacrificial material possibly needed for frequency tuning at 1270. In the example of FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, a passivation/tuning layer 20 nm thick (after tuning) is assumed over the IDTs of all XBARs.

In a second variation of the process 1200, one or more cavities are formed in the back side of the substrate at 1210B. A separate cavity may be formed for each resonator on the chip. The one or more cavities may be formed using an anisotropic or orientation-dependent dry or wet etch to open holes through the back side of the substrate to the piezoelectric plate.

In a third variation of the process 1200, one or more cavities in the form of recesses in the substrate may be formed at 1210C by etching the substrate using an etchant introduced through openings in the piezoelectric plate. A separate cavity may be formed for each resonator in a filter device. The one or more cavities formed at 1210C will not penetrate through the substrate.

In all variations of the process 1200, some or all of XBARs on each chip may be measured or tested at 1260. For example, the admittance of some or all XBARs may be measured at RF frequencies to determine the resonance and/or the anti-resonance frequencies. The measured frequencies may be compared to the intended frequencies and a map of frequency errors over the surface of the wafer may be prepared.

At 1270, the frequency of some or all XBARs may be tuned by selectively removing material from the surface of the passivation/tuning layer in accordance with the frequency error map developed at 1260. The selective material removal may be done, for example, using a scanning ion mill or other tool.

The chips may then be completed at 1280. Actions that may occur at 1280 include forming bonding pads or solder bumps or other means for making connection between the chips and external circuitry, additional testing, and excising individual chips from the wafer containing multiple chips. After the chips are completed, the process 1200 ends at 1295.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart of a method 1300 for fabricating a split-ladder filter device, which may be the split ladder filter device 900 of FIG. 9. The method 1300 starts at 1310 and concludes at 1390 with a completed filter device.

At 1320, a first chip is fabricated using the process of FIG. 12 with a first piezoelectric plate thickness. The first chip contains one, some, or all of the series resonators of the filter device. The first chip may be a portion of a first large multi-chip wafer such that multiple copies of the first chip are produced during each repetition of the step 1320. In this case, individual chips may be excised from the wafer and tested as part of the action at 1320.

At 1330, a second chip is fabricated using the process of FIG. 12 with a second piezoelectric plate thickness. The second chip contains one, some, or all of the shunt resonators of the filter device. The second chip may be a portion of a second large multi-chip wafer such that multiple copies of the second chip are produced during each repetition of the step 1330. In this case, individual chips may be excised from the wafer and tested as part of the action at 1330.

At 1340, a circuit card is fabricated. The circuit card may be, for example, a printed wiring board or an LTCC card or some other form of circuit card. The circuit card may include one or more conductors for making at least one electrical connection between a series resonator on the first chip and a shunt resonator on the second chip. The circuit may be a portion of large substrate such that multiple copies of the circuit card are produced during each repetition of the step 1340. In this case, individual circuit cards may be excised from the substrate and tested as part of the action at 1340. Alternatively, individual circuit cards may be excised from the substrate after chips have been attached to the circuit cards at 1350, or after the devices are packaged at 1360.

At 1350, individual first and second chips are assembled to a circuit card (which may or may not be a portion of a larger substrate) using known processes. For example, the first and second chips may be “flip-chip” mounted to the circuit card using solder or gold bumps or balls to make electrical, mechanical, and thermal connections between the chips and the circuit card. The first and second chips may be assembled to the circuit card in some other manner.

The filter device is completed at 1360. Completing the filter device at 1360 includes packaging and testing. Completing the filter device at 1360 may include excising individual circuit card/chip assemblies from a larger substrate before or after packaging.

Closing Comments

Throughout this description, the embodiments and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than limitations on the apparatus and procedures disclosed or claimed. Although many of the examples presented 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 flowcharts, additional and fewer steps may be taken, and the steps as shown may be combined or further refined to achieve 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” means two or more. As used herein, a “set” of items may include one or more of such items. As used herein, whether in the written description or the claims, the terms “comprising”, “including”, “carrying”, “having”, “containing”, “involving”, and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of”, respectively, are closed or semi-closed transitional phrases with respect to claims. Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain 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 the alternatives also include any combination of the listed items.

FILTER FOR 6 GHZ WI-FI USING TRANSVERSELY-EXCITED FILM BULK ACOUSTIC RESONATORS

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