| The objective of the research is to make advancements in the fabrication and characterization of thin film bulk acoustic wave devices. In particular, the solidly mounted resonator (SMR), with zinc oxide as the piezoelectric material, will be studied. Steps are implemented to grow ZnO thin films with effective piezoelectric coupling near that of bulk ZnO. Traditional x-ray diffraction techniques, as well as an accurate electronic circuit model developed in a SPICE-based circuit simulator, will be utilized to characterize the thin films. The latter will allow for the extraction of various material parameters, including temperature coefficient data, via curve fitting to the actual electrical device response. The relative ease with which the model can be used for film characterization makes it a candidate as a process development tool. As such, it will be used to help develop a process for growing acoustic reflectors. Further utility of the model will be displayed through the design of ladder filters using SMRs. |
