Method of providing differential frequency adjusts in a thin film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) filter and apparatus embodying the method

• US 6,483,229 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2001
• Issued: 11/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Ruby, Richard C., Larson, John D. III, Bradley, Paul D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dougherty, Thomas M.
• Application Number:
  US09/799,149
• Publication Number:
  US 20020121840A1
• Time in Patent Office: 624 Days
• Field of Search: 310/348, 310/349, 310/363, 310/320, 310/367
• US Class Current: 310/348
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 2003/0428 of an electrode
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 2003/0471 of a plurality of resonators at different frequencies
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 3/04 for obtaining desired frequency or temperature coefficient
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/564 implemented with thin-film techniques

Abstract

A method for fabricating a resonator, and in particular, a thin film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR), and a resonator embodying the method are disclosed. An FBAR is fabricated on a substrate by mass loading piezoelectric (PZ) layer between two electrodes. For a substrate having multiple resonators, only selected resonator is mass loaded to provide resonators having different resonance frequencies on the same substrate.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a substrate;

a first resonator fabricated on the substrate, the first resonator comprising

a first bottom electrode;

a first top electrode;

a first piezoelectric (PZ) portion sandwiched between the first bottom electrode and the first top electrode, the first PZ portion being a portion of a core PZ layer;

an additional PZ layer also sandwiched between the first bottom electrode and the first top electrode;

a second resonator fabricated on the substrate, the second resonator comprising

a second bottom electrode;

a second top electrode; and

a second PZ portion sandwiched between the second bottom electrode and the second top electrode such that the first resonator is fabricated having higher mass than the second resonator.

2. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein the first PZ portion comprises Aluminum Nitride (AlN).

3. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein the first bottom electrode comprises Molybdenum.

4. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein the first resonator bridges a first cavity.

5. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein the first resonator has a resonant frequency approximately three percent lower compared to that of the second resonator.

6. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein the core PZ layer and the additional PZ layer comprises the same material.

7. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein thickness of the additional PZ layer is an order of magnitude smaller than that of the core PZ layer.

8. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein thickness of the additional PZ layer is in a range from one to eight percent of thickness of the core PZ layer.

9. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein resonant frequency of the first resonator is one to eight percent lower than resonant frequency of the second resonator.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a substrate;

a first resonator fabricated on the substrate, the first resonator comprising

a first bottom electrode;

a first top electrode;

a first piezoelectric (PZ) portion;

a second resonator fabricated on the substrate, the second resonator comprising

a second bottom electrode;

a second top electrode; and

a second PZ portion, the second PZ portion having a thickness less than thickness of the first PZ portion.

11. The apparatus recited in claim 10 wherein the first PZ portion comprises Aluminum Nitride (AlN).

12. The apparatus recited in claim 10 wherein the first bottom electrode comprises Molybdenum.

13. The apparatus recited in claim 10 wherein the first resonator bridges a first cavity.

14. The apparatus recited in claim 10 wherein the first resonator has a resonant frequency approximately three percent lower compared to that of the second resonator.

15. The apparatus recited in claim 10 wherein resonant frequency of the first resonator is one to eight percent lower than resonant frequency of the second resonator.