The present invention relates to the technical field of radio frequency communication, and in particular, to a frequency-tunable film bulk acoustic resonator and a preparation method therefor.
The film bulk acoustic filter is widely applied to front-end signal processing of radio frequency communication, and is an optimal filter device for high-frequency communication, particularly 5G communication, sub-6G communication, and future higher-frequency communication. The bulk acoustic filter plays a crucial role in the processing of radio frequency signals. The bulk acoustic filter has gradually replaced surface acoustic wave devices as a mainstream filter, for example in communication base stations, WiFi routers, and personal mobile portable devices.
The conventional film bulk acoustic resonator is a sandwiched structure formed by an upper layer of metal electrode, a lower layer of metal electrode, and piezoelectric film materials clamped between the upper layer of metal electrode and the lower layer of metal electrode. The principle of the film bulk acoustic resonator is to use a piezoelectric effect, which is that when the dielectric medium is deformed by external force along a certain direction, the polarization phenomenon is generated in the dielectric medium, and simultaneously, charges with opposite positive and negative polarities are generated on two opposite surfaces of the dielectric medium. When an alternating voltage is applied to two end electrodes, the piezoelectric effect makes the piezoelectric film generate mechanical vibration and generate bulk acoustic waves. When a frequency of the acoustic waves and a thickness of the piezoelectric film satisfy a certain mathematical relationship, a resonance phenomenon occurs, and the principle of the bulk acoustic resonator is that the resonance phenomenon under a specific frequency is used to make frequency selection.
For a transmission form of the acoustic wave in the piezoelectric film, specifically, when the bulk acoustic wave is transmitted to an electrode interface, the acoustic wave is reflected back through an acoustic reflection layer outside the electrode, so that the bulk acoustic wave is limited between the two electrodes to generate oscillation. Since the acoustic impedance of air is approximately zero, there is a very strong ability to reflect acoustic waves at a solid/gas interface composed of the electrode material and air. After the filling layer is prepared below the electrode, a cavity is formed to enable a lower electrode to be directly contacted with air, or a part of a substrate of a device is directly etched, so that the lower electrode of the device is suspended to form a solid/gas interface, namely a silicon-etched device.
The frequency-tunable bulk acoustic filter is rarely studied, and most of the filters perform frequency compensation according to temperature changes or modify a mass loading layer above an electrode to tune a resonance frequency. For example, the Chinese Patent Application No. CN202010013002.X entitled “METHOD FOR TUNING RESONATOR FREQUENCY IN BULK ACOUSTIC FILTER AND BULK ACOUSTIC FILTER” and filed by Rofs Microsystem (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. provides that a center frequency of a resonator is tuned by adjusting an area of a mass loading layer above the bulk acoustic resonator. Although the foregoing technology functions as frequency tuning, the frequency tuning is disposable, that is, the frequency is fixed after the device is processed, and thus the frequency cannot be tuned again. This does not solve an essential problem of frequency tuning, cannot implement a function that the frequency of a single resonator changes along with the external single variable, and can only be used as a technical means for frequency modification.
To overcome the defects in the conventional technology, an objective of the present invention is to provide a frequency-tunable film bulk acoustic resonator and a preparation method therefor.
The present invention aims to provide a novel frequency-tunable film bulk acoustic resonator and a preparation method therefor. The manufacturing process using the preparation method is simple, the space limitation of the conventional bulk acoustic filter can be broken through, the function which can be implemented by a plurality of bulk acoustic resonators in the past can be implemented by one resonator, the space resource is saved to a greater extent, and the miniaturization progress of the device is promoted.
The objective of the present invention is implemented by one of the following technical solutions.
The frequency-tunable film bulk acoustic resonator provided by the present invention is an air-gap type film bulk acoustic resonator.
The frequency-tunable film bulk acoustic resonator provided by the present invention has a multilayer structure of electrode-piezoelectric layer-electrode-piezoelectric layer-electrode. The composite “sandwiched” structure of the electrodes and piezoelectric layers can be from 1 order to N order. All the electrode layers control the resonance frequency of the resonator through the leading-out layer and the application of a bias voltage (an external bias voltage).
The frequency-tunable film bulk acoustic resonator provided by the present invention comprises: a substrate, an air gap, a sandwiched structure formed by electrodes and piezoelectric layers, and an electrode lead-out layer, wherein the substrate is connected to the sandwiched structure formed by the electrodes and the piezoelectric layers, and a connection face of the substrate and the sandwiched structure formed by the electrodes and the piezoelectric layers is recessed towards inside of the substrate to form the air gap; the electrode lead-out layer is connected to the sandwiched structure formed by the electrodes and the piezoelectric layers; the sandwiched structure formed by the electrodes and the piezoelectric layers comprises a bottom electrode, piezoelectric layers, intermediate electrodes, and a top electrode, wherein the electrodes and the piezoelectric layers are alternately arranged to form the sandwiched structure, the piezoelectric layers are stacked on the bottom electrode, the intermediate electrodes are covered by the piezoelectric layers, and the top electrode is stacked on the piezoelectric layers; and n piezoelectric layer(s) and n intermediate electrode(s) are provided, n is an integer, and n≥1.
The sandwiched structure formed by the electrodes and the piezoelectric layers may comprise a plurality of electrode layers and piezoelectric layers, and the electrode layers and the piezoelectric layers are arranged alternately to form a sandwiched structure together.
The air gap is prepared between the substrate and a lower electrode. The electrode lead-out layer leads out the lower electrode (bottom electrode) and the intermediate electrode. The top electrode, the piezoelectric film, the intermediate electrode, and the bottom electrode form a sandwiched structure together, the resonance frequency multiplication of the resonator can be tuned based on an external bias voltage, and the resonator is applied to the field of 5G high-frequency communications.
Further, both the bottom electrode and the intermediate electrodes of the sandwiched structure formed by the electrodes and the piezoelectric layers are connected to an external bias voltage source through the electrode lead-out layer.
Further, potentials of different electrodes in the sandwiched structure formed by the electrodes and the piezoelectric layers are set to be a same polarity or opposite polarities. Each electrode layer is connected to an external bias voltage source via an electrode lead-out layer, and a potential of each electrode layer can be a same polarity or opposite polarities. That is, the potential difference between all the electrodes may be equal, or the electric fields in the two adjacent piezoelectric layer regions are opposite in direction, as shown in
Further, the substrate is monocrystalline Si; the piezoelectric layer is a piezoelectric film, the piezoelectric layer is more than one of PZT, AlN, ZnO, CdS, and LiNbO3; the bottom electrode, the intermediate electrode, and the top electrode are all metal electrode layers, and the metal electrode layer is more than one of Pt, Mo, W, Ti, Al, Au, and Ag.
Further, the piezoelectric layer has a thickness of 500 nm to 3 μm; and the top electrode, the intermediate electrode, and the bottom electrode have a thickness of 20 nm to 1 μm.
Further, the electrode lead-out layer has a thickness of 0.3 to 1 μm.
Further, the air gap has a depth of 0.5 to 2 μm.
The present invention provides a preparation method of the frequency-tunable film bulk acoustic resonator, comprising the following steps:
Further, the method for depositing SiO2 in the step (1) is PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition); the method for depositing the metal electrode in the step (2) is magnetron sputtering or evaporation; and the method for depositing the piezoelectric layers in the step (3) comprises more than one of PVD (physical vapor deposition), MOCVD (metal-organic chemical vapor deposition), PLD (pulsed laser deposition), and ALD (atomic layer deposition).
Further, in the step (4), the method for etching the through holes led out by the electrodes on the piezoelectric layers is to use mask etching or photoetching; the mask is made of SiO2 or photoresist; and the method for depositing the metal to obtain the electrode lead-out layer is evaporation or magnetron sputtering.
Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and beneficial effects:
(1) The present invention aims to provide a novel frequency-tunable film bulk acoustic filter structure, this structure can change the center frequency of a resonator by adjusting an external bias voltage; when the bias voltages applied to the electrodes all have the same magnitude and polarity, the equivalent piezoelectric coupling coefficient signs inside the piezoelectric films in all parts are uniform, so that the resonator resonates at a fundamental resonance frequency f0 thereof; when the bias voltages applied to the electrodes have the same magnitude and opposite polarities, the equivalent piezoelectric coupling coefficients in the corresponding piezoelectric films are also affected, consequently, the phases of the transmission of the acoustic waves in the piezoelectric films are opposite, and the resonance frequency is changed accordingly.
(2) The frequency-tunable film bulk acoustic resonator provided by the present invention can implement a function that is completed by a plurality of film bulk acoustic resonators in the conventional technology, which saves a space resource and is beneficial to promoting the miniaturization process of devices. The preparation process is simple, the production cost is saved to a great extent, and the preparation process is compatible with the existing MEMS/Si process.
in the drawings, a monocrystalline silicon substrate 101, a filling layer 102, a bottom electrode 103, a piezoelectric film 104, an intermediate electrode 105, an electrode lead-out layer 106, an air cavity 107, and a top electrode 108 are included.
Specific embodiments of the present invention are further described below with reference to examples, to which, however, the practice and protection of the present invention are not limited. It should be noted that processes not specifically described below can be implemented or understood by those skilled in the art with reference to the prior art. Reagents or instruments without specified manufacturers used herein are conventional products that are commercially available.
An example of the present invention provides a method for tuning a film bulk acoustic filter. Tuning a frequency of a film bulk acoustic filter that is commonly used in the art is implemented by adjusting a thickness or an area of a mass loading layer above the top electrode. In this example, a novel resonator structure is provided to implement frequency multiplication tuning of the film bulk acoustic filter.
This embodiment provides a frequency-tunable air-gap type film bulk acoustic resonator, as shown in
The frequency-tunable air-gap type film bulk acoustic resonator provided by Embodiment 1 comprises: a monocrystalline silicon substrate 101, an air gap 107, a sandwiched structure formed by electrodes and piezoelectric layers, and an electrode lead-out layer 106, wherein the substrate is connected to the sandwiched structure formed by the electrodes and the piezoelectric layers, and a connection face of the monocrystalline silicon substrate 101 and the sandwiched structure formed by the electrodes and the piezoelectric layers is recessed towards inside of the substrate to form the air gap 107; the electrode lead-out layer 106 is connected to the sandwiched structure formed by the electrodes and the piezoelectric layers; the sandwiched structure formed by the electrodes and the piezoelectric layers comprises a bottom electrode 103, piezoelectric layers 104, intermediate electrodes 105, and a top electrode 108, wherein the electrodes and the piezoelectric layers are alternately arranged to form the sandwiched structure, the piezoelectric layers 104 are stacked on the bottom electrode 103, the intermediate electrodes 105 are covered by the piezoelectric layers 104, and the top electrode 108 is stacked on the piezoelectric layers 104; and n piezoelectric layer(s) 104 and n intermediate electrode(s) 105 are provided, n is an integer, and n≥1.
The substrate 101 is monocrystalline silicon Si; the filling layer 102 is SiO2 or P ion-doped SiO2; the piezoelectric film 104 is AlN with a thickness of 0.5 μm; the bottom electrode 103, the top electrode 108, and the intermediate electrode 105 are all metal electrode layers with a thickness of 200 nm, and the metal is Mo.
In addition to the top electrode, each electrode layer is connected to an external bias voltage source via an electrode lead-out layer, and a potential of each electrode layer can be a same polarity or opposite polarities. That is, the potential difference between all the electrodes may be equal, or the electric fields in the two adjacent piezoelectric layer regions are opposite in direction, as shown in
In Embodiment 1, the frequency-tunable air-gap type film bulk acoustic resonator is prepared by the following steps:
In an example, Embodiment 1 obtains the frequency-tunable film bulk acoustic resonator, wherein both the number of piezoelectric film layers and the number of intermediate electrodes are 2, that is, n is 2. When n is equal to 2, the obtained frequency-tunable film bulk acoustic resonator is subjected to a filter admittance test, which is performed by a network analyzer Anglent E50. The testing process is to connect the network analyzer with a probe station, and fix the wafer and the probe on the probe station. Then, the network analyzer is calibrated, and the center frequency of the network analyzer is set to 1675 MHz, and the tested bandwidth is 900 MHz. The probe station is moved to enable the probe to contact the metal electrode on the surface of the wafer, and a scanning test is performed by using a scanning key. As shown in
According to the same principle, the bulk acoustic resonator of this embodiment can deduce that when the number of the piezoelectric film layers is 1, 2, 3 . . . N (N is a positive integer), and the value of N is increased continuously, the resonance frequency of the bulk acoustic resonator can be multiplied.
The foregoing embodiment is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is merely intended to illustrate but not to limit the present invention. The changes, replacements, and modifications made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202011572983.8 | Dec 2020 | CN | national |
This application is the national phase entry of International Application No. PCT/CN2021/127795, filed on Oct. 31, 2021, which is based upon and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202011572983.8, filed on Dec. 24, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2021/127795 | 10/31/2021 | WO |