A scandium doped aluminum nitride thin film bulk acoustic resonator

Abstract

Currently, we stand at the forefront of revolutionary advancements in communication technology. The escalating demands of advanced communication necessitate enhanced performance from materials and radio frequency (RF) devices. This paper aims to enhance film performance by depositing scandium-doped aluminum nitride (ScAlN) directly onto a Si substrate. Additionally, ScAlN was deposited on SiO2/AlN/Mo functional layers for comparison purposes. The ScAlN directly deposited on Si demonstrated superior performance in terms of crystalline quality and surface roughness, with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 1.7° and a roughness of 1.76 nm. Furthermore, a film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) based on the ScAlN film directly deposited on Si was successfully fabricated through thin-film transfer, with critical processes achieved via bonding and wet-etching of the substrate. The ScAlN in the fabricated resonator exhibited a favorable c-axis preferred orientation. The resulting ScAlN-based FBAR displayed a quality factor of 429. This study lays the groundwork for exciting opportunities in the development of higher-performance piezoelectric materials and devices.