11 GHz Lateral-Field-Excited Aluminum Nitride Cross-Sectional Lamé Mode Resonator

Abstract

This paper reports the first experimental demonstration of a Lateral-Field-Excited (LFE) Aluminum Nitride (AlN) Cross-Sectional Lamé Mode Resonator (CLMR) operating at 11 GHz. First, the device is modeled via Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Next, optimized design is realized via a simple 2-mask fabrication process. Fabricated LFE AlN CLMR demonstrates a loaded quality factor (Q <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">l</sub> ) of 615 and an electromechanical coupling coefficient ( k <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">t</sub> <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> ) of 1.3%, resulting in an exceptionally high Figure-of-Merit ( FoM=k <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">t</sub> <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> ·Q <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">l</sub> ) of 8. In addition, the capability to litographycally define the center frequency without significantly degrading its k <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">t</sub> <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> makes LFE ALN CLMRs one of the best candidates for the realization of low-cost yet high-performance filters scaled to operate in the X-band.