This present disclosure claims the priority to Chinese patent application No. 202210591204.1, entitled “Resonator and method of preparing a resonator”, and filed on May 26, 2022 in China, and the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductors, and specifically relates to a resonator and a method of preparing a resonator.
With the advent of 5G era, mobile communication systems are being developed towards higher frequencies and wider bands. A radio frequency filter in communication equipment is the foundation of receiving and transmitting signals. A filter in a radio frequency front-end serves as a core device, so that the performance of the filter directly determines the quality of a radio frequency front-end module. The filter is composed of several resonators. Therefore, the performance of the resonators also directly determines the quality of the filter. A film bulk acoustic resonator is widely used as a type of resonator.
A resonant frequency of the film bulk acoustic resonator is determined by a thickness of this filter, which makes it impossible to manufacture multiple resonators operating at different frequencies on one wafer. A frequency modulation technology of the existing film bulk acoustic resonator mainly involves electric tuning, which adjusts the frequency of the film bulk acoustic resonator through an external element. However, tuning through an external element can cause significant loss, resulting in a significant decrease in the performance of the film bulk acoustic resonator.
The present application aims to provide a resonator and a method of preparing a resonator to solve the shortcomings in the prior art, so as to solve the problem of a decrease in the performance caused by introduction of an external element to achieve tuning of an existing film bulk acoustic resonator.
In order to achieve the above objective, the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application is as follows:
According to one aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a method of preparing a resonator is provided. The method includes: providing a device wafer, wherein the device wafer includes a first substrate and a piezoelectric layer, a bottom electrode, and a first mass loading layer formed in sequence on the first substrate, and the device wafer further includes a sacrificial layer formed on the bottom layer and covering the first mass loading layer; forming a supporting layer on one side of the device wafer with the sacrificial layer; forming a second substrate on the supporting layer through a bonding process; removing the first substrate to expose the piezoelectric layer; forming a top electrode and a second mass loading layer in sequence on the piezoelectric layer; and releasing the sacrificial layer to form a cavity between the first mass loading layer and the supporting layer, wherein the first mass loading layer, the second mass loading layer, and the cavity are all located in an effective working region of the resonator.
Optionally, the first mass loading layer comprise a plurality of mass blocks distributed on a same layer, and/or the second mass loading layer comprise a plurality of mass blocks distributed on a same layer.
Optionally, the forming a second substrate on the supporting layer through a bonding process includes: forming a first transition layer on the supporting layer; forming a second transition layer on the second substrate; and bonding the first transition layer with the second transition layer to form the second substrate on the supporting layer.
Optionally, the first transition layer includes a first buffer layer formed on the supporting layer and a first bonding layer formed on the first buffer layer; and the second transition layer includes a second buffer layer formed on the second substrate and a second bonding layer formed on the second buffer layer.
Optionally, the first transition layer includes a first buffer layer formed on the supporting layer; and the second transition layer includes a second buffer layer formed on the second substrate.
Optionally, after forming a first buffer layer on the supporting layer, the method further includes: flattening the first buffer layer.
Optionally, the releasing the sacrificial layer to form a cavity between the first mass loading layer and the supporting layer includes: etching one side surface of the top electrode facing away from the bottom electrode to form a through hole penetrating through the sacrificial layer; and releasing the sacrificial layer through the through hole to form the cavity between the first mass loading layer and the supporting layer.
According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a resonator is provided, including a second substrate and a supporting layer arranged on the second substrate; a bottom electrode, a piezoelectric layer, and a top electrode are arranged on the supporting layer in sequence, and a cavity is formed between the bottom electrode and the supporting layer; a first mass loading layer is formed on a side surface of the bottom electrode close to the cavity, and a second mass loading layer is formed on a side surface of the top electrode facing away from the cavity; and the first mass loading layer, the second mass loading layer, and the cavity are all located in an effective working region of the resonator.
Optionally, the first mass loading layer comprise a plurality of mass blocks distributed on a same layer, and/or the second mass loading layer comprise a plurality of mass blocks distributed on a same layer.
Optionally, a first transition layer and a second transition layer bonded with each other are further arranged between the second substrate and the supporting layer.
Optionally, a plurality of first mass blocks are arranged on the first mass loading layer, and are dispersed on the bottom electrode.
Optionally, a shape of a cross section of each first mass block is a closed pattern composed of a circle, or a trapezoid, or a triangle, or an arc, and distances between centers of two adjacent first mass blocks are equal.
Optionally, a plurality of second mass blocks are arranged on the second mass loading layer, and the second mass blocks are dispersed on the top electrode.
Optionally, a shape of a cross section of each second mass block is a closed pattern composed of a circle, or a trapezoid, or a triangle, or an arc, and distances between centers of two adjacent second mass blocks are equal.
Optionally, a first total projection area of the first mass blocks in the effective working region of the resonator is obtained; a second total projection area of the second mass blocks in the effective working region of the resonator is obtained; and a frequency of the resonator is adjusted by controlling a ratio of the first total projection area to the second total projection area.
Optionally, the ratio of the first total projection area to the second total projection area is 1:1.
Optionally, the ratio of the first total projection area to the second total projection area is 1:0.
Optionally, the ratio of the first total projection area to the second total projection area is 1:0.5625.
Optionally, the ratio of the first total projection area to the second total projection area is 1:1.5.
Optionally, the cross section of the first mass block has the same shape as the shape of the cross section of the second mass block.
The present application has the following beneficial effects.
The present application provides a resonator and a method of preparing a resonator. The method includes: providing a device wafer, wherein the device wafer includes a first substrate and a piezoelectric layer, a bottom electrode, and a first mass loading layer formed in sequence on the first substrate, and the device wafer further includes a sacrificial layer formed on the bottom layer and covering the first mass loading layer; forming a supporting layer on one side of the device wafer with the sacrificial layer; forming a second substrate on the supporting layer through a bonding process; removing the first substrate to expose the piezoelectric layer; forming a top electrode and a second mass loading layer in sequence on the piezoelectric layer; and releasing the sacrificial layer to form a cavity between the first mass loading layer and the supporting layer, wherein the first mass loading layer, the second mass loading layer, and the cavity are all located in an effective working region of the resonator. the resonator is correspondingly tuned by controlling a ratio of an area of the first mass loading layer in an effective working region of the resonator to an area of the second mass loading layer in the effective working region of the resonator, so that the ratios of the areas of the mass loading layers of various resonators in the effective working regions can be controlled to be different on the same wafer, thereby manufacturing resonators with different resonant frequencies, effectively avoiding loss caused by tuning with an external element, and ensuring good performance of the resonator.
In order to explain the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application more clearly, the following will briefly introduce the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments. It should be understood that the drawings in the following description only illustrate some embodiments of the present application and thus shall not be deemed as limiting the scope. Those of ordinary skill in the art can obtain other related drawings based on these drawings without creative work.
10: first substrate; 20: piezoelectric layer; 30: bottom electrode; 40: first mass loading layer; 50: sacrificial layer; 60: supporting layer; 51: first buffer layer; 70: first bonding layer; 11: second substrate; 52: second buffer layer; 71: second bonding layer; 80: electrode outlet hole; 90: top electrode; 91: extraction electrode; 100: second mass loading layer; 110: through hole; and 120: cavity.
Implementations described below represent necessary information enabling those skilled in the art to practice the implementations, and show the best mode of practicing the implementations. After reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the present disclosure and recognize the applications of these concepts not specifically proposed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the present disclosure and the attached claims.
It should be understood that although the terms first, second, and the like can be used to describe various elements herein, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, the second element may be referred to as the first element. As used in this article, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
It should be understood that when one element (for example, a layer, a region, or a substrate) is referred to as being “on another element” or “extending to another element”, it can be directly on or extend to another element, or there may also be an intermediate element. On the contrary, when one element is referred to as being “directly on another element” or “directly extending to another element”, there is no intermediate element. Similarly, it should be understood that when one element (for example, a layer, a region, or a substrate) is referred to as being “on another element” or “extending on another element”, it can be directly on another element or directly extend on another element, or there may also be an intermediate element. On the contrary, when one element is referred to as being “directly on another element” or “directly extending on another element”, there is no intermediate element. It should also be understood that when one element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to another element, or there may be an intermediate element. On the contrary, when one element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there is no intermediate element.
The terms such as “below” or “above” or “upper” or “lower” or “horizontal” or “vertical” can be used herein to describe a relationship between an element, layer, or region and another element, layer, or region, as shown in the figures. It should be understood that these terms and those discussed earlier are intended to cover different orientations of a device other than those depicted in the figures.
The terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific implementations and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, unless explicitly stated above and below, the singular forms “a/an”, “one”, and “said” are intended to also include a plural form. It should also be understood that when used herein, the term “include” indicates the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups of the aforementioned items.
Unless otherwise defined, all the terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) have the same meanings as those commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. It should also be understood that the terms used herein should be interpreted as having meanings consistent with their meanings in this specification and related fields, and cannot be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless explicitly defined herein.
According to one aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a method of preparing a resonator is provided. As shown in
In order to avoid loss caused by turning the resonator by an external element, in this application, the first mass loading layer is manufactured on a surface of the bottom electrode facing away from the piezoelectric layer, and the second mass loading layer is manufactured on a surface of the top electrode away from the piezoelectric layer. The resonator is correspondingly tuned by controlling a ratio of an area of the first mass loading layer in an effective working region of the resonator to an area of the second mass loading layer in the effective working region of the resonator. On the one hand, the ratios of the areas of the mass loading layers of various resonators in the effective working regions can be controlled to be different on the same wafer, thereby manufacturing resonators with different resonant frequencies, effectively avoiding the loss caused by tuning with the external element, and ensuring good performance of the resonator. On the other hand, integrating the process of manufacturing the first mass loading layer and the second mass loading layer with the process of preparing a resonator achieves preparation of a resonator with mass loading layers. On the other hand, the mass loading layers are distributed on both the top electrode and the bottom electrode for tuning, which can further expand a tunable frequency range of the resonator. Still on the other hand, by combining the bonding process with a substrate transferring manner, it is more convenient to manufacture the mass loading layers on both the top electrode and the bottom electrode. Thicknesses of the various layers of the resonator remain unchanged, an area of the first mass loading layer in the effective region of the resonator is controlled to remain unchanged, and an area of the second mass loading layer in the effective region of the resonator is changed, thereby changing a ratio of the areas of the first mass loading layer and the second mass loading layer to the effective region of the resonator. That is, the resonator is turned by controlling the ratio of the areas of the two mass loading layers. The manner of controlling the areas of the mass loading layers by a mask and photolithography is achieved by designing an area of a mask plate in advance, that is, the area of the mask plate is an area of a corresponding mass loading layer after the photolithography.
To further describe the method of preparing the resonator in the present application, the following will be explained in the form of embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In one implementation:
Referring to
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Specifically, according to a requirement, in one implementation, as shown in
Specifically, according to a requirement, in another implementation, as shown in
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According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a resonator is provided, as shown in
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In the above three cases, the ratios of the areas of the first mass loading layer 40 in the effective region of the resonator to the areas of the second mass loading layer 100 in the effective region of the resonator are different.
Similarly, the top electrode 90 is provided with mass loading layers with different areas, and the ratio of the first total projection area to the second total projection area is set to 1:1.5 to achieve adjustment of different frequencies.
As shown in Table 1, the resonant frequencies of the resonators obtained by simulation in cases where the ratio of the area of the first mass loading layer 40 in the effective region of the resonator to the area of the second mass loading layer 100 in the effective region of the resonator is different correspond to
Table 1 further shows that the resonant frequencies of the resonators obtained by simulation in cases where the ratio of the area of the first mass loading layer 40 in the effective region of the resonator to the area of the second mass loading layer 100 in the effective region of the resonator is different all change.
In the present application, the resonator is correspondingly tuned by controlling a ratio of an area of the first mass loading layer 40 in an effective working region of the resonator to an area of the second mass loading layer 100 in the effective working region of the resonator, so that the ratios of the areas of the mass loading layers of various resonators in the effective working regions can be controlled to be different on the same wafer, thereby manufacturing resonators with different resonant frequencies, effectively avoiding loss caused by tuning with an external element, and ensuring good performance of the resonator.
According to still another aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a filter is provided, including any one of the above resonators.
The above descriptions are merely preferred embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. For those skilled in the art, this application may have various modifications and changes. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made without departing from the spirit and principle of the present application shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202210591204.1 | May 2022 | CN | national |