The Ferroelectric-Gate Fin Microwave Acoustic Signal Processor

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel 3D ferroelectric-gate fin nano-acoustic resonator technology that enables highly scalable, tunable microwave RF filters for adaptive wireless communication, surpassing limitations of traditional planar resonators.

Contribution

The work presents a new ferroelectric-gate fin resonator design with extreme frequency tunability and large-scale integration capability for microwave signal processing.

Findings

Operates in 3-28 GHz range with high f.Q.kt2 product

Demonstrated a monolithic filter array covering 9-12 GHz

Achieved record high electromechanical coupling in nano-acoustic resonators

Abstract

Wireless communication through dynamic spectrum allocation over microwave bands, essential to accommodate exponentially growing data traffic, requires massive array of radio-frequency (RF) filters for adaptive signal shaping at arbitrary frequencies. However, conventional RF filters based on planar acoustic resonators are incapable to realize such massive integrated arrays, due to their large footprint and limited on-chip frequency scalability. Here, we present a signal processor enabled by integration of three-dimensional ferroelectric-gate fin (FGF) nano-acoustic resonators with extreme frequency tailorability and large-scale integrability. FGFs are created by growing atomic-layered ferroelectric hafnia-zirconia transducers on silicon nano-fins, operate in bulk acoustic modes with lithographically scalable frequency over 3-28 GHz, and provide record high frequency - quality factor - electromechanical coupling product (f.Q.kt2) of 19.4 x 1010 (at ~11GHz). A monolithic filter-array covering 9-12 GHz is also demonstrated by on-chip electrical coupling of FGFs. This demonstration highlights the potential of FGF resonators to realize chip-scale adaptive processors extendable to millimeter-wave frequencies.