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In this work, an Aluminum Scandium Nitride (AlScN) on Diamond Sezawa mode surface acoustic wave (SAW) platform for RF filtering at Ku-band (12-18 GHz) is demonstrated. Thanks to the high acoustic velocity and low-loss diamond substrate, the prototype resonator at 12.9 GHz achieves a high phase velocity (𝑣𝑣p) of 8671 m/s, a maximum Bode-Q of 408, and coupling coefficient (𝑘𝑘eff 2 )of 2.1%, outperforming high-velocity substrates such as SiC and sapphire by more than 20% in velocity. Resonators spanning 8 to 18 GHz are presented. The platform’s high power handling above 12.5 dBm is also experimentally validated.
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Effect of Substrate-RF on Sub-200 nm Al0.7Sc0.3N Thin Films
Sc-doped aluminum nitride is emerging as a new piezoelectric material which can substitute undoped aluminum nitride (AlN) in radio-frequency MEMS applications, thanks to its demonstrated enhancement of the piezoelectric coefficients. Furthermore, the recent demonstration of the ferroelectric-switching capability of the material gives AlScN the possibility to integrate memory functionalities in RF components. However, its high-coercive field and high-leakage currents are limiting its applicability. Residual stress, growth on different substrates, and testing-temperature have already been demonstrated as possible knobs to flatten the energy barrier needed for switching, but no investigation has been reported yet on the whole impact on the dielectric and ferroelectric dynamic behavior of a single process parameter. In this context, we analyze the complete spectrum of variations induced by the applied substrate-RF, from deposition characteristics to dielectric and ferroelectric properties, proving its effect on all of the material attributes. In particular, we demonstrate the possibility of engineering the AlScN lattice cell to properly modify leakage, breakdown, and coercive fields, as well as polarization charge, without altering the crystallinity level, making substrate-RF an effective and efficient fabrication knob to ease the limitations the material is facing.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1763709
- PAR ID:
- 10392909
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Micromachines
- Volume:
- 13
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 2072-666X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 877
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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A Landau–Devonshire thermodynamic energy density function for ferroelectric wurtzite aluminum scandium nitride (Al1−xScxN) solid solution is developed. It is parametrized using available experimental and theoretical data, enabling the accurate reproduction of composition-dependent ferroelectric properties, such as spontaneous polarization, dielectric permittivity, and piezoelectric constants, for both bulk and thin films. The maximum concentration of Sc for the wurtzite structure to remain ferroelectric is found to be 61 at. %. A detailed analysis of Al1−xScxN thin films reveals that the ferroelectric phase transition and properties are insensitive to substrate strain. This study lays the foundation for quantitative modeling of novel ferroelectric wurtzite solid solutions.more » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13060877
