High-Frequency Resonators with Excellent Temperature Characteristics using Edge Reflection (2007)

Currently, some surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, especially duplexers, are required to have a good temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF), because the bands between a transmission band (Tx) and a receiving band (Rx) of the duplexer such as personal communication services (PCS) mobile phone in US is very narrow (about 1%). However, a 36-48degYX-LiTaO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> substrate, which is used for most SAW radio frequency (RF) filters and most SAW duplexers in mobile phone systems, has an optimum electromechanical coupling factor for their applications but does not have a good TCF. It was reported that the TCF of a transversal SAW filter using thin Al electrodes on LiTaO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> and LiNbO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> substrates with negative TCF was improved by depositing thick SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> film with positive TCF on them. However, most R,F SAW filters and most duplexers are composed of resonator type SAW devices such as ladder-type or multi-mode resonator type filters using thick Al-electrodes on the substrate to obtain a large reflection coefficient. When the thick SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> films were deposited on the SAW resonator and the multi-mode SAW resonator filter consisting of thick Al-electrodes/36deg YX-LiTaO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> to improve their TCF, their frequency characteristics were markedly deteriorated. Because their coupling factor becomes smaller and their propagation loss larger due to large periodic convex portions as thick as the Al-electrodes produced on the SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> surface. To avoid influence due to these large periodic convex portions, a SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> with thin convex/thin Al-electrodes/LiTaO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> and a flattened SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> without convex/thick Al-electrodes/LiTaO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> structures were examined, but they didn't show good characteristics because of the small reflection at the grating reflectors. On the other hand, it is considered that the reflection of a shear horizontal (SH) wave at a substrate edge of the SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> /Al-electrodes/LiTaO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> structure is large regardless of Al or SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> thickness, because the SH wave completely reflects at the free substrate edge. But, it has been considered that it is difficult to form a fine substrate edge for a high-frequency resonator using the edge reflections. This time, by developing of forming method for a fine substrate edge, high-frequency edge reflection type resonators with a good TCF and an excellent frequency characteristic, which were composed of a thick SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> with thin convex/thin Al-electrodes/36degYX-LiTaO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> and a flattened thick SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> without convex/thick Al-electrodes/36degYX-LiTaO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> , have been realized for the first time.