Highly piezoelectric MgZr co-doped aluminum nitride-based vibrational energy harvesters.

The first MgZr co-doped AlN-based vibrational energy harvester (VEH) is presented. (MgZr)AlN, which is a new class of doped AlN, provides high piezoelectricity and cost advantage. Using 13%-(MgZr)-doped AlN for micromachined VEHs, maximum output power of 1.3 µW was achieved with a Q-factor of 400 when resonant frequency, vibration acceleration, load resistance were 792 Hz, 8 m/s(2), and 1.1 MΩ, respectively. Normalized power density was 8.1 kW·g(-2)·m(-3). This was one of the highest values among the currently available piezoelectric VEHs.

Highly piezoelectric co-doped AlN thin films for wideband FBAR applications.

We report piezoelectric materials composed of charge-compensated co-doped (Mg, ß)(x)Al(1-x)N (ß = Zr or Hf) thin films. The effect of the dopant element into AlN on the crystal structure, and piezoelectric properties of co-doped AlN was determined on the basis of a first-principles calculation, and the theoretical piezoelectric properties were confirmed by experimentally depositing thin films of magnesium (Mg) and zirconium (Zr) co-doped AlN (Mg-Zr-doped AlN). The Mg-Zrdoped AlN thin films were prepared on Si (100) substrates by using a triple-radio-frequency magnetron reactive co-sputtering system. The crystal structures and piezoelectric coefficients (d33) were investigated as a function of the concentrations, which were measured by X-ray diffraction and a piezometer. The results show that the d33 of Mg-Zr-doped AlN at total Mg and Zr concentrations (both expressed as ß) of 0.35 was 280% larger than that of pure AlN. The experimentally measured parameter of the crystal structure and d33 of Mg-Zr-doped AlN (plotted as functions of total Mg and Zr concentrations) were in very close agreement with the corresponding values obtained by the first-principle calculations. Thin film bulk acoustic wave resonators (FBAR) employing (Mg,Zr)0.13Al0.87N and (Mg, Hf)0.13 Al0.87N as a piezoelectric thin film were fabricated, and their resonant characteristics were evaluated. The measured electromechanical coupling coefficient increased from 7.1% for pure AlN to 8.5% for Mg-Zr-doped AlN and 10.0% for Mg- Hf-doped AlN. These results indicate that co-doped (Mg, ß)(x)Al(1-x)N (ß = Zr or Hf) films have potential as piezoelectric thin films for wideband RF applications.

A circuit model for nonlinear simulation of radio-frequency filters using bulk acoustic wave resonators.

This paper describes a circuit model for the analysis of nonlinearity in the filters based on radiofrequency (RF) bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators. The nonlinear output is expressed by a current source connected parallel to the linear resonator. Amplitude of the nonlinear current source is programmed proportional to the product of linear currents flowing in the resonator. Thus, the nonlinear analysis is performed by the common linear analysis, even for complex device structures. The analysis is applied to a ladder-type RF BAW filter, and frequency dependence of the nonlinear output is discussed. Furthermore, this analysis is verified through comparison with experiments.