Enhanced Performance of ZnO/SiO2/Al2O3 Surface Acoustic Wave Devices with Embedded Electrodes

SAW Filters on LiNbO3/SiC Heterostructure for 5G n77 and n78 Band Applications

The 5G communication system has experienced a substantial expansion of the spectrum, which poses higher requirements to radio frequency (RF) filters in enhancing their operating frequencies and bandwidths. To this end, this work focused on solving the filtering scheme for challenging 5G n77 and n78 bands and successfully implemented the corresponding spurious-free surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters exploiting large-coupling shear horizontal (SH) modes based on X-cut LiNbO3 (LN)/silicon carbide (SiC) heterostructure. Here, we initially investigated the suppression methods for spurious modes theoretically and experimentally and summarized an effective normalized LN thickness ( [Formula: see text] range of 0.15-0.30 for mitigating Rayleigh modes and higher order modes, as well as tilted interdigital transducers (IDT) by about 24° for eliminating transverse modes. Resonators with wavelengths ( λ) from 0.95 to [Formula: see text] were also fabricated, showing a scalable resonance from 2.48 to 4.21 GHz without any in-band ripple. Two filters completely meeting 5G n77 and n78 full bands were finally constructed, showing center frequencies ( fc) of 3763 and 3560 MHz, 3-dB fractional bandwidths (FBW) of 24.8% and 15.6%, and out-of-band (OoB) rejections of 18.7 and 28.1 dB, respectively. This work reveals that X-LN/SiC heterostructure is a promising underpinning material for SAW filters in 5G commercial applications.

mm-band surface acoustic wave devices utilizing two-dimensional boron nitride

The simple structure, low power consumption, and small form factor have made surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices essential to mobile communication as RF filters. For instance, the latest 5G smartphones are equipped with almost 100 acoustic wave filters to select a specific frequency band and increase communication capacity. On the arrival of the newest communication standard, 5G, mm-band up to 39 GHz is supposed to be utilized, whereas the conventional SAW filters are limited to below 3 GHz, leaving a critical component missing. Here, we show an emerging 2D material-hexagonal boron nitride-can become a key enabler of mm-band SAW filter. Our study, based on first principles analysis and acousto-electric simulation, shows the operating frequency of SAW devices can reach over 20 GHz in its fundamental mode and 40 GHz in its interface mode with high electromechanical coupling coefficient (K²) and low insertion loss. In addition to the orders of magnitude improvement compared to the conventional SAW devices, our study provides a systematic approach to utilizing van der Waals crystals with highly anisotropic acoustic properties for practical applications.

Fractional Bandwidth up to 24% and Spurious Free SAW Filters on Bulk 15°YX-LiNbO3 Substrates Using Thickness-Modulated IDT Structures

To cope with ubiquitous wireless connectivity and the increased and faster data delivery in 5G communication, surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters are progressively requiring wider bandwidths. Conventional bulk 15°YX-LiNbO₃ substrates with a large coupling coefficient (K²) are attractive for the low-cost mass production of wideband SAW filters, but these generally suffer from spurious responses, limiting their practical application. In this work, a novel and simple SAW configuration is proposed that uses thickness-modulated interdigital transducer (IDT) structures to overcome the limitations set by spurious responses. Different from the conventional design where the thicknesses of the IDT electrodes in the series and parallel resonators generally kept the same, the proposed configuration adopts IDT electrodes of different thicknesses in the series and shunt resonators to suppress or remove unwanted spurious Rayleigh modes from the filter passband. Two different ultra-wideband SAW filter designs employing thickness-modulated IDTs were designed and fabricated to validate the effective suppression of spurious modes. The SAW filters experimentally featured spurious-free responses in the passband as well as a large 3 dB fractional bandwidth (FBW) in the 18.0% and 24.1% ranges and low insertion losses below 1 dB. This work can significantly broaden the range of applications for SAW devices and can open a pathway to commercialize ultra-wideband SAW filters in 5G communication systems.

Molecular Dynamics Simulation on Behaviors of Water Nanodroplets Impinging on Moving Surfaces

Droplets impinging on solid surfaces is a common phenomenon. However, the motion of surfaces remarkably influences the dynamical behaviors of droplets, and related research is scarce. Dynamical behaviors of water nanodroplets impinging on translation and vibrating solid copper surfaces were investigated via molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The dynamical characteristics of water nanodroplets with various Weber numbers were studied at five translation velocities, four vibration amplitudes, and five vibration periods of the surface. The results show that when water nanodroplets impinge on translation surfaces, water molecules not only move along the surfaces but also rotate around the centroid of the water nanodroplet at the relative sliding stage. Water nanodroplets spread twice in the direction perpendicular to the relative sliding under a higher surface translation velocity. Additionally, a formula for water nanodroplets velocity in the translation direction was developed. Water nanodroplets with a larger Weber number experience a heavier friction force. For cases wherein water nanodroplets impinge on vibration surfaces, the increase in amplitudes impedes the spread of water nanodroplets, while the vibration periods promote it. Moreover, the short-period vibration makes water nanodroplets bounce off the surface.

Enhanced Coupling Coefficient in Dual-Mode ZnO/SiC Surface Acoustic Wave Devices with Partially Etched Piezoelectric Layer

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices based on multi-layer structures have been widely used in filters and sensors. The electromechanical coupling factor (K2), which reflects energy-conversion efficiency, directly determines the bandwidth of the filter and the sensitivity of sensor. In this work, a new configuration of dual-mode (quasi-Rayleigh and quasi-Sezawa) SAW devices on a ZnO/SiC layered structure exhibiting significantly enhanced K2 was studied using the finite element method (FEM), which features in the partial etching of the piezoelectric film between the adjacent interdigitated electrodes (IDTs). The influences of piezoelectric film thickness, etching ratio, top electrodes, bottom electrodes, and the metallization ratio on the K2 were systematically investigated. The optimum K2 for the quasi-Rayleigh mode and quasi-Sezawa mode can exceed 12% and 8%, respectively, which increases by nearly 12 times and 2 times that of the conventional ZnO/SiC structure. Such significantly promoted K2 is of great benefit for better comprehensive performance of SAW devices. More specifically, a quasi-Rayleigh mode with relatively low acoustic velocity (Vp) can be applied into the miniaturization of SAW devices, while a quasi-Sezawa mode exhibiting a Vp value higher than 5000 m/s is suitable for fabricating SAW devices requiring high frequency and large bandwidth. This novel structure has proposed a viable route for fabricating SAW devices with excellent overall performance.

Periodic Analysis of Surface Acoustic Wave Resonator with Dimensionally Reduced PDE Model Using COMSOL Code

Radio-frequency (RF) surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators used as filters and duplexers are mass-produced and widely used in current mobile phones. With the numerous emergences of the diverse device structure, a universal method used for the accurate and fast simulation of the SAW resonator calls for urgent demand. However, there are too many instances where the behavior of the entire acoustic resonator cannot be characterized rapidly and efficiently due to limitations in the current computer memory and speed. This is especially true for SAW resonators configured with long arrays of inter-digital transducers (IDTs), and we have to resort to a periodic analysis. In this paper, the previously reported generalized partial differential equations (PDE) based on the two-dimensional finite element method (2D-FEM) model is extended to analysis for the periodic structure of the SAW resonator. We present model order reduction (MOR) techniques based on FEM and periodic boundary conditions to achieve a dimensionally reduced PDE model without decreasing the accuracy of computations. Examples of different SAW devices, including the regular SAW, IHP-SAW and TC-SAW resonators, are provided which shows the results of the periodic analysis compared with the experimental results of the actual resonators. The investigation results demonstrate the properties of the proposed methodology and prove its effectiveness and accuracy.

Systematical Study of the Basic Properties of Surface Acoustic Wave Devices Based on ZnO and GaN Multilayers

Recently, surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices based on layered structures are a popular area of research. Multilayered structures, including ZnO and GaN, have shown great performance and can be applied in diverse fields. Meanwhile, thin films, such as AlGaN and n-ZnO, can be added to these structures to form a 2-D electron gas (2DEG) which makes the devices tunable. This work systematically studies the basic properties of SAW devices based on ZnO and GaN multilayers via COMSOL Multiphysics. The sorts of structures with different crystal orientations are simulated, and various acoustic modes are considered. Results show that a range of phase velocity from about 2700 m/s to 6500 m/s can be achieved, and devices based on ZnO and GaN multilayers can meet the requirements of the electromechanical coupling coefficient from about 0 to 7%. Every structure’s unique properties are valuable for diverse applications. For example, c-ZnO/c-GaN/c-sapphire structure can be used for high-frequency and large-bandwidth SAW devices, while SAW devices based on a-ZnO/a-GaN/r-sapphire and 2DEG are suitable for programmable SAW sensors. This work has great reference value for future research into SAW devices.