IP Library Granted Patent US 11,146,244
Granted Patent B2
US 11,146,244 · App. 16/941,458 · Granted Oct 12, 2021

Solidly-mounted transversely excited film bulk acoustic resonator using rotated Y-X cut lithium niobate

Inventors: Ventsislav Yantchev (Sofia, BG); Viktor Plesski (Gorgier, CH); Bryant Garcia (Burlingame, CA)
Assignee: Resonant Inc.
H03H9/568H03H9/02015H03H9/02031H03H9/02062H03H9/02228H03H9/132H03H9/174H03H9/176H03H9/562H03H9/564H01L41/0477H03H3/02H03H9/02039H03H2003/023
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,146,244
App. No.
16/941,458
Granted
Oct 12, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

Acoustic resonator devices, filters, and methods are disclosed. An acoustic resonator device includes a substrate, a single-crystal lithium niobate plate, an acoustic Bragg reflector sandwiched between a surface of the substrate and a back surface of the lithium niobate plate, wherein the acoustic Bragg reflector includes a plurality of layers alternating between high acoustic impedance layers and low acoustic impedance layers, wherein all of the plurality of layers are dielectric materials, and wherein the high acoustic impedance layers are one of silicon nitride and aluminum nitride and the low acoustic impedance layers are carbon-containing silicon oxide, and an interdigital transducer (IDT) formed on a front surface of the lithium niobate plate. Euler angles of the lithium niobate plate are [0°, β, 0°], where β is greater than or equal to 0° and less than or equal to 60°.

Claims (60)

1. An acoustic resonator device comprising:

a substrate having a surface;

a single-crystal lithium niobate plate having front and back surfaces;

an acoustic Bragg reflector sandwiched between the surface of the substrate and the back surface of the lithium niobate plate, wherein the acoustic Bragg reflector comprises a plurality of layers alternating between high acoustic impedance layers and low acoustic impedance layers, wherein all of the plurality of layers are dielectric materials, and wherein the high acoustic impedance layers are one of silicon nitride and aluminum nitride and the low acoustic impedance layers are carbon-containing silicon oxide; and

an interdigital transducer (IDT) formed on the front surface of the lithium niobate plate, wherein Euler angles of the lithium niobate plate are [0°, β, 0°], where β is greater than or equal to 0° and less than or equal to 60°.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein β is greater than or equal to 26° and less than or equal to 34°.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein β is about 30°.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the IDT and the lithium niobate plate are configured such that a radio frequency signal applied to the IDT excites a shear primary acoustic mode within the lithium niobate plate.

5. The device of claim 4 , wherein a direction of acoustic energy flow of the shear primary acoustic mode is substantially orthogonal to the front and back surfaces of the lithium niobate plate.

6. The device of claim 4 , wherein the acoustic Bragg reflector is configured to reflect the shear primary acoustic mode over a frequency range including a resonant frequency and an anti-resonance frequency of the device.

7. The device of claim 1 , further comprising:

a front-side dielectric layer formed on the front surface of the lithium niobate plate between the fingers of the IDT.

8. A filter device comprising:

a substrate having a surface;

a single-crystal lithium niobate plate having front and back surfaces;

an acoustic Bragg reflector sandwiched between the surface of the substrate and the back surface of the lithium niobate plate;

a conductor pattern formed on the front surface of the lithium niobate plate, the conductor pattern including a plurality of interdigital transducers (IDTs) of a respective plurality of resonators including a shunt resonator and a series resonator;

a first dielectric layer having a first thickness deposited over the IDT of the shunt resonator; and

a second dielectric layer having a second thickness less than the first thickness deposited over the IDT of the series resonator,

wherein Euler angles of the lithium niobate plate are [0°, β, 0°], where β is greater than or equal to 0° and less than or equal to 60°.

9. The filter device of claim 8 , wherein the acoustic Bragg reflector comprises:

a plurality of dielectric layers alternating between high acoustic impedance layers and low acoustic impedance layers.

10. The filter device of claim 9 , wherein

the high acoustic impedance layers are one of silicon nitride and aluminum nitride, and

the low acoustic impedance layers are carbon-containing silicon oxide.

11. The filter device of claim 8 , wherein β is greater than or equal to 26° and less than or equal to 34°.

12. The filter device of claim 8 , wherein β is about 30°.

13. The filter device of claim 8 , wherein the lithium niobate plate and all of the plurality of IDTs are configured such that respective radio frequency signals applied to the plurality of IDTs excite respective shear primary acoustic modes within the lithium niobate plate.

14. The filter device of claim 13 , wherein a direction of acoustic energy flow of all of the primary acoustic modes is substantially orthogonal to the front and back surfaces of the lithium niobate plate.

15. The filter device of claim 13 , where the acoustic Bragg reflector is configured to reflect the primary shear acoustic modes over a frequency range including resonant and anti-resonance frequencies of all of the plurality of resonators.

16. The filter device of claim 8 , wherein

the second thickness is greater than or equal to 0, and

the first thickness is less than or equal to 500 nm.

17. A method of fabricating an acoustic resonator device comprising:

forming an acoustic Bragg reflector by depositing material layers on one or both of a surface of a device substrate and a first surface of a single-crystal lithium niobate plate having a second surface attached to a sacrificial substrate;

bonding the lithium niobate plate attached to the sacrificial substrate to the device substrate such that the layers of the acoustic Bragg reflector are sandwiched between the first surface of the lithium niobate plate and the device substrate;

removing the sacrificial substrate to expose the second surface of the lithium niobate plate; and

forming an interdigital transducer (IDT) on the second surface of the lithium niobate plate, wherein

Euler angles of the lithium niobate plate are [0°, β, 0°], where β is greater than or equal to 0° and less than or equal to 60°.

18. An acoustic resonator device comprising:

a substrate having a surface;

a single-crystal lithium niobate plate having front and back surfaces, wherein Euler angles of the lithium niobate plate are [0°, β, 0°], where β is greater than or equal to 0° and less than or equal to 60°;

an acoustic Bragg reflector sandwiched between the surface of the substrate and the back surface of the lithium niobate plate;

an interdigital transducer (IDT) formed on the front surface of the lithium niobate plate; and

a front-side dielectric layer formed on the front surface of the lithium niobate plate between the fingers of the IDT.

19. The device of claim 18 , wherein the IDT and the lithium niobate plate are configured such that a radio frequency signal applied to the IDT excites a shear primary acoustic mode within the lithium niobate plate.

20. The device of claim 19 , wherein a direction of acoustic energy flow of the shear primary acoustic mode is substantially orthogonal to the front and back surfaces of the lithium niobate plate.

21. The device of claim 19 , wherein the acoustic Bragg reflector is configured to reflect the shear primary acoustic mode over a frequency range including a resonant frequency and an anti-resonance frequency of the device.

22. The device of claim 18 , wherein β is greater than or equal to 26° and less than or equal to 34°.

23. The device of claim 18 , wherein β is about 30° .

24. A filter device comprising:

a substrate having a surface;

a single-crystal lithium niobate plate having front and back surfaces, wherein Euler angles of the lithium niobate plate are [0°, β, 0°], where β is greater than or equal to 0° and less than or equal to 60°;

an acoustic Bragg reflector sandwiched between the surface of the substrate and the back surface of the lithium niobate plate, wherein the acoustic Bragg reflector comprises a plurality of dielectric layers alternating between high acoustic impedance layers and low acoustic impedance layers, and wherein the high acoustic impedance layers are one of silicon nitride and aluminum nitride and the low acoustic impedance layers are carbon-containing silicon oxide; and

a conductor pattern formed on the front surface of the lithium niobate plate, the conductor pattern including a plurality of interdigital transducers (IDTs) of a respective plurality of resonators including a shunt resonator and a series resonator.

25. The filter device of claim 24 , wherein the lithium niobate plate and all of the plurality of IDTs are configured such that respective radio frequency signals applied to the plurality of IDTs excite respective shear primary acoustic modes within the lithium niobate plate.

26. The filter device of claim 24 , wherein a direction of acoustic energy flow of all of the primary acoustic modes is substantially orthogonal to the front and back surfaces of the lithium niobate plate.

27. The filter device of claim 24 , where the acoustic Bragg reflector is configured to reflect the primary shear acoustic modes over a frequency range including resonant and anti-resonance frequencies of all of the plurality of resonators.

28. The filter device of claim 24 , wherein β is greater than or equal to 26° and less than or equal to 34°.

29. The filter device of claim 24 , wherein β is about 30°.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 6, 2023
From: RESONANT INC.
To: MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 062957/0864 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 7, 2020
From: YANTCHEV, VENTSISLAV; PLESSKI, VIKTOR; GARCIA, BRYANT
To: RESONANT INC.
Reel/Frame 053437/0153 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 7, 2020
From: YANTCHEV, VENTSISLAV; PLESSKI, VIKTOR; GARCIA, BRYANT
To: RESONANT INC.
Reel/Frame 053437/0931 →
Continuity (14)
Continuation 16782971 · Feb 5, 2020
Continuation In Part 16689707 · Nov 20, 2019
Continuation 16230443 · Dec 21, 2018
Continuation In Part 16438141 · Jun 11, 2019
Continuation In Part 16230443 · Dec 21, 2018
Provisional Application 62904133 · Sep 23, 2019
Provisional Application 62685825 · Jun 15, 2018
Provisional Application 62701363 · Jul 20, 2018
Provisional Application 62741702 · Oct 5, 2018
Provisional Application 62748883 · Oct 22, 2018
Provisional Application 62753815 · Oct 31, 2018
Provisional Application 62753809 · Oct 31, 2018
Provisional Application 62818564 · Mar 14, 2019
Related Publication 20200358426A1 · Nov 12, 2020
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