Akoustis, Inc.

As disclosed herein, methods of forming a piezoelectric resonator device can include forming a first stack of piezoelectric layers having alternating opposing ferroelectric polarizations comprising the following operations: (a) depositing a first material, including metal and nitrogen atoms, on a surface to form a first piezoelectric layer having a first ferroelectric polarization, (b) forming a first layer including Al on the first piezoelectric layer, (c) depositing a second material including the metal and the nitrogen atoms on the first layer to form a second piezoelectric layer having the first ferroelectric polarization, (d) forming first poling electrodes electrically laterally spaced apart from one another on a surface of the second piezoelectric layer and (e) applying a voltage across the first poling electrodes to change the first ferroelectric polarization of the second piezoelectric layer to a second ferroelectric polarization that is opposite to the first ferroelectric polarization.

An RF integrated circuit device can includes a substrate and a High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) device on the substrate including a ScAlN layer configured to provide a buffer layer of the HEMT device to confine formation of a 2DEG channel region of the HEMT device. An RF piezoelectric resonator device can be on the substrate including the ScAlN layer sandwiched between a top electrode and a bottom electrode of the RF piezoelectric resonator device to provide a piezoelectric resonator for the RF piezoelectric resonator device.

A resonator circuit device. This device can include a piezoelectric layer having a front-side electrode and a back-side electrode spatially configured on opposite sides of the piezoelectric layer. Each electrode has a connection region and a resonator region. Each electrode also includes a partial mass-loaded structure configured within a vicinity of its connection region. The front-side electrode and the back-side electrode are spatially configured in an anti-symmetrical manner with the resonator regions of both electrodes at least partially overlapping and the first and second connection regions on opposing sides. This configuration provides a symmetric acoustic impedance profile for improved Q factor and can reduce the issues of misalignment or unbalanced boundary conditions associated with conventional single mass-loaded perimeter configurations.

A method of manufacture for an acoustic resonator or filter device. In an example, the present method can include forming metal electrodes with different geometric areas and profile shapes coupled to a piezoelectric layer overlying a substrate. These metal electrodes can also be formed within cavities of the piezoelectric layer or the substrate with varying geometric areas. Combined with specific dimensional ratios and ion implantations, such techniques can increase device performance metrics. In an example, the present method can include forming various types of perimeter structures surrounding the metal electrodes, which can be on top or bottom of the piezoelectric layer. These perimeter structures can use various combinations of modifications to shape, material, and continuity. These perimeter structures can also be combined with sandbar structures, piezoelectric layer cavities, the geometric variations previously discussed to improve device performance metrics.

An RF diplexer circuit device using modified lattice, lattice, and ladder circuit topologies. The diplexer can include a pair of filter circuits, each with a plurality of series resonator devices and shunt resonator devices. In the ladder topology, the series resonator devices are connected in series while shunt resonator devices are coupled in parallel to the nodes between the resonator devices. In the lattice topology, a top and a bottom serial configurations each includes a plurality of series resonator devices, and a pair of shunt resonators is cross-coupled between each pair of a top serial configuration resonator and a bottom serial configuration resonator. The modified lattice topology adds baluns or inductor devices between top and bottom nodes of the top and bottom serial configurations of the lattice configuration. A multiplexing device or inductor device can be configured to select between the signals coming through the first and second filter circuits.

A method of fabricating a configurable single crystal acoustic resonator (SCAR) device integrated circuit. The method includes providing a bulk substrate structure having first and second recessed regions with a support member disposed in between. A thickness of single crystal piezo material is formed overlying the bulk substrate with an exposed backside region configured with the first recessed region and a contact region configured with the second recessed region. A first electrode with a first terminal is formed overlying an upper portion of the piezo material, while a second electrode with a second terminal is formed overlying a lower portion of the piezo material. An acoustic reflector structure and a dielectric layer are formed overlying the resulting bulk structure. The resulting device includes a plurality of single crystal acoustic resonator devices, numbered from (R 1 ) to (RN), where N is an integer greater than 1.

An RF filter system includes a plurality of bulk acoustic wave resonators arranged in a circuit having serial and parallel shunt configurations of resonators. Each resonator having a reflector, a support member including a surface, a first electrode including tungsten, overlying the reflector, a piezoelectric film including crystalline aluminum scandium nitride overlapping the first electrode, a second electrode including tungsten overlapping the piezoelectric film and the first electrode, and a passivation layer including silicon nitride overlying the second electrode. Portions of the support member surface of at least one resonator define a cavity region having a portion of the first electrode of the at least one resonator is located within the cavity region. The pass band circuit response has a bandwidth corresponding to a thickness of at least one of the first electrode, piezoelectric film, second electrode, and passivation layer. The system can include single crystal or polycrystalline BAW resonators.

As disclosed herein, methods of forming piezoelectric layers having alternating polarizations and related bulk acoustic wave filter devices. Pursuant to these embodiments, a method of forming a piezoelectric resonator device can include forming a first material, including metal and nitrogen atoms, using a first process to provide a first piezoelectric layer having the metal and the nitrogen atoms arranged in a first polar orientation, to establish a first polarization for the first piezoelectric layer and forming a second material, including the metal and the nitrogen atoms on the first piezoelectric layer, using a second process to provide a second piezoelectric layer having the metal and the nitrogen atoms arranged in a second polar orientation, to establish a second polarization for the second piezoelectric layer that is opposite of the first polarization.

A method of forming a film can include heating a CVD reactor chamber containing a substrate to a temperature range between about 750 degrees Centigrade and about 950 degrees Centigrade, providing a first precursor comprising Al to the CVD reactor chamber in the temperature range, providing a second precursor comprising Sc to the CVD reactor chamber in the temperature range, providing a third precursor comprising nitrogen to the CVD reactor chamber in the temperature range, and forming the film comprising ScAlN on the substrate.

A resonator circuit device. The present invention provides for improved resonator shapes using egg-shaped, partial egg-shaped, and asymmetrical partial egg-shaped resonator structures. These resonator shapes are configured to give less spurious mode/noise below the resonant frequency (F s ) than rectangular, circular, and elliptical resonator shapes. These improved resonator shapes also provide filter layout flexibility, which allows for more compact resonator devices compared to resonator devices using conventionally shaped resonators.