Tunable bulk acoustic wave mems microresonator

• US 20050162040A1
• Filed: 02/11/2003
• Published: 07/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
• Inventors: Robert, Philippe
• Granted Patent: US 7,592,739 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 310/322
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 2009/241 Bulk-mode MEMS resonators
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/172 Means for mounting on a substrate, i.e. means constituting the material interface confining the waves to a volume
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/173 Air-gaps

Abstract

A suspended film bulk acoustic micro-resonator that includes a beam made of a piezoelectric material fixed to a support and sandwiched between excitation electrodes. The resonator also includes a mechanism modifying limiting conditions of the resonator composed of the excited beam to modify the micro-resonator resonant frequency.

Claims

1-23. -23. (canceled)

24. A suspended film bulk acoustic micro-resonator, comprising:

a beam made of a piezoelectric material fixed to a support and with a thickness selected to operate at a given resonant frequency, the beam being sandwiched in a direction of its thickness between excitation electrodes; and

means for modifying limiting conditions of the resonator composed of the excited beam to modify the resonant frequency.

25. The micro-resonator according to claim 24, wherein the means for modifying the limiting conditions of the resonator comprises means for applying a mechanical stress on the beam.

26. The micro-resonator according to claim 25, wherein the means for applying a mechanical stress on the beam enables application of an electrostatic force on the beam, resulting in bending of the beam.

27. The micro-resonator according to claim 26, wherein the beam is fixed to the support by its two ends.

28. The micro-resonator according to claim 26, wherein the beam is fixed to the support by only one of its ends.

29. The micro-resonator according to claim 26, wherein the beam is separated from the support by a cavity facing the beam, and the means for applying an electrostatic force includes at least one first electrode located on the beam and at least one second electrode facing the at least one first electrode and in the cavity.

30. The micro-resonator according to claim 29, wherein the at least first electrode used to apply an electrostatic force located on the beam is one of the excitation electrodes.

31. The micro-resonator according to claim 25, wherein the means for applying a mechanical stress on the beam comprises means for producing a bimetallic strip effect.

32. The micro-resonator according to claim 31, wherein the means for producing a bimetallic strip effect includes at least one bimetallic strip effect device resulting from a metallic layer formed on one face of the beam and a heating element.

33. The micro-resonator according to claim 32, wherein the means for producing a bimetallic strip effect is located on one face of the beam.

34. The micro-resonator according to claim 32, wherein the means for producing a bimetallic strip effect forms at least one double bimetallic strip, a first bimetallic strip effect device being located on a first face of the beam and a second bimetallic strip effect device being located on a second face of the beam, the two bimetallic strip effect devices being located facing each other.

35. The micro-resonator according to claim 32, wherein the heating element comprises an electrical resistance supported by the metallic layer and separated from the metallic layer by a layer of electrical insulation.

36. The micro-resonator according to claim 32, wherein the heating element comprises the metallic layer of the bimetallic strip effect device.

37. The micro-resonator according to claim 25, wherein the means for applying a mechanical stress on the beam comprises piezoelectric means.

38. The micro-resonator according to claim 37, wherein the piezoelectric means includes electrodes on at least one face of the beam, for applying an electric field to the beam, which results in a compression/expansion stress or a shear stress in a plane of the beam.

39. The micro-resonator according to claim 38, wherein one of the electrodes of the piezoelectric means is an excitation electrode.

40. The micro-resonator according to claim 24, wherein the means for modifying the limiting conditions of the resonator comprises means for applying a mechanical load on the beam.

41. The micro-resonator according to claim 40, wherein the means for applying a mechanical load on the beam comprises at least one loading beam fixed to the support and facing the beam made of a piezoelectric material so as to apply the mechanical load under action of an electrostatic force applied to the loading beam by means for applying an electrostatic force.

42. The micro-resonator according to claim 41, wherein the means for applying an electrostatic force comprises a first electrode arranged on the loading beam and a second electrode of one of the excitation electrodes.

43. The micro-resonator according to claim 24, wherein the means for modifying the limiting conditions of the resonator comprises means for modifying temperature of the beam made of a piezoelectric material.

44. The micro-resonator according to claim 43, wherein the means modifying the temperature of the beam made of a piezoelectric material comprises at least one electrical resistance.

45. The micro-resonator according to claim 44, wherein the at least one electrical resistance is arranged on one of the excitation electrodes and is separated from the one of the excitation electrodes by a layer of electrical insulation.

46. The micro-resonator according to claim 24, wherein the beam made of a piezoelectric material provided with its excitation electrodes is fixed to the support through a layer of a dielectric material.