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5GHZ - Saw Device Using AlN - Diamond Structure
5GHZ - Saw Device Using AlN - Diamond Structure
Because of the increasing volume of information, the Polycrystalline diamond films were grown on silicon
demand for larger band pass surface acoustic wave 共SAW兲 wafers by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition
filters at high frequency has become important.1 The highest 共PECVD兲, using an ASTeX reactor operating at a microwave
frequency devices are expected from the diamond substrate/ power of 6000 W and a pressure of 163 103 Pa, with 3%
piezoelectric material thin film layered structures because volume mixture of CH4 in H2.6 After deposition, the poly-
diamond exhibits the highest acoustic wave velocity among crystalline diamond layer was removed from the silicon sub-
all materials.2 Aluminum nitride is one of the most promising strate by a wet chemical etching in a HNA solution
materials for high frequency SAW devices because of its 共HF : HNO3 : CH3COOH兲, leading to a freestanding diamond
very high acoustic velocity among piezoelectric materials layer with a flat surface at the nucleation side. The nucleation
and its fairly large piezoelectric coupling coefficient along side of the freestanding diamond surface is smooth with an
the c axis.3 In previous work, we have demonstrated experi- average root-mean-square roughness Rrms of 15 nm, deter-
mentally that the structure combining AlN piezoelectric film mined by the nucleation density.
and freestanding diamond layer exhibits a phase velocity
AlN thin films were prepared by reactive rf magnetron
around 12 km/ s 共three times higher than that of conventional
sputtering on CVD diamond substrates. The growth experi-
piezoelectric material such as quartz兲.4,5 However, the oper-
mental conditions were published elsewhere.7,8 The growth
ating frequencies of the realized devices remain under 2 GHz
rate is 0.5 m / h, and the thickness of films was measured by
due the limitation of photolithography resolution. In this
work, the high velocity of diamond is combined with the fine scanning electron microscopy 共SEM兲 from the cross section
resolution of the electron beam lithography 共EBL兲 to achieve of structure. For the device considered in this study, the AlN
SAW devices operating at 5 GHz. We have used electron thickness was fixed to 1 m.
beam lithography for rapid and versatile prototyping on The present sub-micron fabrication process was applied
small substrates to obtain interdigital transducer 共IDT兲 struc- to the fabrication of high frequency SAW devices. As the
tures in the submicron and nanometer ranges. We present diamond substrate is electrically rather insulating and in or-
here the very high frequency SAW devices based on AIN/ der to overcome the charge accumulation on the top surface
diamond structures realized using e-beam lithography com- of the substrate, a 10 nm layer of aluminum was deposited
bined with lift-off technique. The achievement of such de- on the top surface before the resist coating. The electrosen-
vice is not trivial. In fact, AIN/diamond layered structures sitive resist used is a double layer consisting of two different
present a high electrical resistivity, involving charge accumu- electrosensitive resists: a copolymer consisting of a mixture
lation on the top surface by electrons injected during the of polymethyl methacrylate and methacrylic 共MMA兲 and
e-beam process, and consequently, the quasi-impossibility to 950 K polymethyl methacrylate 共PMMA兲 from Micro Chem.
pattern the IDTs. The solution to this problem will be Both resists are spun with the same experimental conditions.
presented. The double layer of resist is used to facilitate the lift-off
process step afterwards. The lithography was done at an ac-
a兲
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; electronic mail: celeration voltage of 30 kV and a current of 55 pA. The
badreddine.assouar@lpmi.uhp-nancy.fr exposure dose for each structure strongly depends on its size
FIG. 2. Atomic force microscopy characterization showed IDT periodicity FIG. 3. Frequency response of AlN/diamond layered structure SAW device,
and its thickness uniformity. in which we can observe the fundamental of mode 1 around 5 GHz.
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223504-3 Kirsch et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 223504 共2006兲
1
optimize the frequency response. Taking into account the H. Nakahata, K. Higaki, A. Hachigo, S. Shikata, N. Fujimori, Y.
wavelength 共 = 2 m兲 and the center frequency value, the Takahashi, T. Kajihara, and Y. Yamamoto, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Part 1 33,
324 共1994兲.
calculated acoustic phase velocity is v = f 0 = 9.2 km s−1. 2
S. I. Shikata, Low-Pressure Synthetic Diamond, Springer Series in Mate-
This value is in good agreement with the expected one ob- rials Processing, edited by B. Dischler and C. Wild 共Springer, Berlin,
tained by calculation for mode 1 共Table I兲. We can also ob- 1998兲, p. 261.
serve two additional peaks at 2.9 and 5.42 GHz. These peaks 3
J. Meinschen, G. Behme, F. Falk, and H. Stafast, Appl. Phys. A: Mater.
are identified, thanks to dispersion curves of velocity, and Sci. Process. 69, S683 共1999兲.
correspond to mode 0 and mode 2. Their corresponding ve- 4
V. Mortet, O. Elmazria, M. Nesladek, M. B. Assouar, G. Vanhoyland, J.
locities are, respectively, 5.8 and 10.85 km s−1. The low in- D’Haen, M. D’Olieslaeger, and P. Alnot, Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 1720
tensities of these two peaks are explained by the low elec- 共2002兲.
5
tromechanical values of the associated modes. O. Elmazria, V. Mortet, M. El Hakiki, M. Nesladek, and P. Alnot, IEEE
We have demonstrated in this work the realization of Trans. Ultrason. Ferroelectr. Freq. Control 50, 710 共2003兲.
6
V. Mortet, O. Elmazria, M. Nesládek, M. El Hakiki, G. Vanhoyland, J.
SAW device operating around 5 GHz fundamental fre-
D’Haen, M. D’Olieslaeger, and P. Alnot, Phys. Status Solidi A 199, 145
quency, based on AIN/diamond layered structure, made us-
共2003兲.
ing e-beam lithography. We have pointed out the different 7
M. B. Assouar, M. El Hakiki, O. Elmazria, P. Alnot, and C. Tiusan, Dia-
propagation modes of SAW in this structure, which agree mond Relat. Mater. 13, 1111 共2004兲.
well with the theoretical calculations relative to phase veloc- 8
T. Easwarakhanthan, M. B. Assouar, P. Pigeat, P. Alnot, J. Appl. Phys. 98,
ity and electromechanical coupling coefficient. Filtering per- 073531 共2005兲.
9
formances could be enhanced by optimizing the IDT design S. I. Shikata, H. Nakahata, and A. Hachigo, New Diamond Front. Carbon
and operating frequency in the range of 10 GHz could be Technol. 9, 75 共1999兲.
reached by using the higher harmonics.
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