Cavity spanning bottom electrode of a substrate-mounted bulk wave acoustic resonator

• US 6,384,697 B1
• Filed: 05/08/2000
• Issued: 05/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Ruby, Richard C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pascal, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): TAKAOKA, DEAN O
• Application Number:
  US09/566,868
• Time in Patent Office: 729 Days
• Field of Search: 333/189, 333/133, 333/187, 29/253.5
• US Class Current: 333/189
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 3/02 for the manufacture of piezoelectric or electrostrictive resonators or networks H03H3/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 3/04 for obtaining desired frequency or temperature coefficient
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/173 Air-gaps
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/585 Stacked Crystal Filters [SCF]
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/587 Air-gaps

Abstract

A filter formed of acoustic resonators, where each resonator has its own cavity and a bottom electrode that spans the entirety of the cavity, so that the bottom electrode has an unsupported interior region surrounded by supported peripheral regions. In the preferred embodiment, the cavity is formed by etching a depression into the substrate, filling the depression with a sacrificial material, depositing the piezoelectric and electrode layers that define an FBAR or SBAR, and then removing the sacrificial material from the depression. Also in the preferred embodiment, the sacrificial material is removed via release holes that are limited to the periphery of the depression. Preferably, the bottom electrode is the only electrode that spans the cavity, thereby limiting the formation of parasitic FBARs or SBARs. In one embodiment, the bottom electrode includes a serpentine edge that leaves a portion of one side of the cavity free of overlap by the bottom electrode, so that a top electrode may overlap this portion. Thus, the top and bottom electrodes can overlap the same side without sandwiching the piezoelectric layer outside of the unsupported interior region.

Claims

1. A method of fabricating an acoustic resonator on a substrate comprising the steps of:

forming a bottom electrode on a suspension region of said substrate such that said bottom electrode has edges extending beyond each boundary of said suspension region;

forming piezoelectric material on said bottom electrode such that at least one piezoelectric edge of said piezoelectric material extends beyond a corresponding edge of said bottom electrode, so that said at least one piezoelectric edge resides on a surface of said substrate; and

forming a top electrode on said piezoelectric material;

including leaving said edges in contact with all sides of said suspension region and freeing an interior area of said bottom electrode from contact with said substrate.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of forming said top electrode includes depositing a conductive material such that opposed edges of said top electrode reside within an area aligned with said suspension region.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said step of depositing said conductive material includes defining said top electrode to have a perimeter with a major portion residing within said area aligned with said suspension region.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising a step of forming a cavity in said suspension region of said substrate, thereby freeing said interior region of said bottom electrode.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said step of forming said cavity includes:

forming a depression into said substrate;

filling said depression with a sacrificial material;

depositing said bottom electrode over said sacrificial layer and onto said substrate such that said bottom electrode extends beyond each said boundary of said suspension region; and

removing said sacrificial material after said steps of forming said bottom and top electrodes and said piezoelectric material.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said step of forming said cavity further includes forming release areas for removal of said sacrificial material.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein said step of forming said cavity further includes providing a protective layer in said depression to inhibit diffusion of said sacrificial material into said substrate.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein:

said step of forming said bottom electrode includes leaving at least one portion of the perimeter of said suspension region free of overlap by said bottom electrode, while maintaining contact of said bottom electrode with all of said sides of said suspension region; and

said step of forming said top electrode includes restricting said top electrode to overlapping said perimeter of said suspension region at said at least one portion.

9. A method of fabricating an acoustic resonator comprising:

forming a layer stack on a substrate such that said layer stack has an interior region that is unsupported and has a first electrode layer that extends from said unsupported interior region to supported peripheral regions at each side of said substrate, said layer stack being formed to include an active layer that is responsive to an applied electrical field to generate acoustic waves and to include a second electrode layer on a side of said active layer opposite to said substrate and said first electrode layer, said layer stack including a piezoelectric layer having an edge portion that extends beyond said first electrode layer and that contacts said substrate.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said step of forming said layer stack includes forming said active layer of a piezoelectric material and includes forming said first and second electrodes of conductive material.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein said step of forming said layer stack includes connecting said supported peripheral regions of said first electrode layer to said substrate, said unsupported interior region having four sides, said supported peripheral regions being at each of said four sides.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising a step of forming a cavity partially through said substrate to provide a space between said substrate and said unsupported interior region of said layer stack.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein said step of forming said layer stack includes depositing said second electrode layer to extend over only one of said supported peripheral regions and over only a portion of said unsupported interior region.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein said step of forming said layer stack includes forming a plurality of said active layers between electrode layers.

15. An acoustic resonator comprising:

a substrate having an upper surface with an open area;

an active layer stack on said upper surface and over said open area, said active layer stack including a bottom electrode and a top electrode on opposite sides of a piezoelectric layer, said bottom electrode extending across said open area and connecting to said substrate to provide an unsupported interior region and a supported peripheral region on each major side of said open area, said unsupported interior region being substantially surrounded by said supported peripheral regions, said piezoelectric layer having an edge that extends beyond said bottom electrode, such that said edge resides on said substrate.

16. The acoustic resonator of claim 15 wherein said open area is a cavity in said substrate, said cavity having a configuration indicative of anisotropic etching from said upper surface through a portion of said substrate.

17. The acoustic resonator of claim 16 wherein said cavity is substantially enclosed by said active layer stack, with only release holes being available to enable formation of said cavity.

18. The acoustic resonator of claim 17 wherein said release holes are limited to a periphery of said cavity.

19. The acoustic resonator of claim 15 wherein said top electrode extends over said open area of said upper surface and crosses over only one of said major sides of said open area.

20. The acoustic resonator of claim 19 wherein said major surfaces are four in number.

21. A filter having a plurality of first acoustic resonators connected in series and a plurality of second acoustic resonators connected in parallel between adjacent first acoustic resonators, said first and second acoustic resonators being formed on a substrate and each of said first acoustic resonators and said second acoustic resonators comprising:

a bottom electrode in contact with each side of a cavity in said substrate such that each said first and second acoustic resonator has a separate cavity, said bottom electrode having at least one edge that is extended beyond said side of said cavity, such that said at least one edge is in contact with said substrate;

a piezoelectric layer on said bottom electrode, said piezoelectric layer having at least one piezoelectric edge that is extended beyond said bottom electrode, such that said at least one piezoelectric edge is in contact with said substrate; and

a top electrode on said piezoelectric layer on a side opposite to said bottom electrode.