The present invention relates to a single crystal micromechanical resonator. In particular, the resonator includes a lithium niobate or lithium tantalate suspended plate. Also provided are improved microfabrication methods of making resonators, which does not rely on complicated wafer bonding, layer fracturing, and mechanical polishing steps. Rather, the methods allow the resonator and its components to be formed from a single crystal.

A configurable single crystal acoustic resonator (SCAR) device integrated circuit. The circuit comprises a plurality of SCAR devices numbered from 1 through N, where N is an integer of 2 and greater. Each of the SCAR device has a thickness of single crystal piezo material formed overlying a surface region of a substrate member. The single crystal piezo material is characterized by a dislocation density of less than 10.sup.12 defects/cm.sup.2.

A method of manufacturing an integrated circuit. This method includes forming an epitaxial material comprising single crystal piezo material overlying a surface region of a substrate to a desired thickness and forming a trench region to form an exposed portion of the surface region through a pattern provided in the epitaxial material. Also, the method includes forming a topside landing pad metal and a first electrode member overlying a portion of the epitaxial material and a second electrode member overlying the topside landing pad metal. Furthermore, the method can include processing the backside of the substrate to form a backside trench region exposing a backside of the epitaxial material and the landing pad metal and forming a backside resonator metal material overlying the backside of the epitaxial material to couple to the second electrode member overlying the topside landing pad metal.

Described is a technology that facilitates fabrication of an acoustic wave resonator. For instance, an acoustic wave resonator can comprise a silicon layer comprising a base surface, a multi-layer film disposed at the silicon layer opposite the base surface and comprising a metal electrode and a piezoelectric material, and a cavity within the silicon layer, wherein the cavity is sealed, at a location opposite the base surface, by a silicon membrane. The silicon layer and the silicon membrane can be provided as a unitary silicon element. In another instance, a batch of the acoustic wave resonators can be fabricated using a common silicon-on-insulator wafer platform.

A moveable micromachined member of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device includes an insulating layer disposed between first and second electrically conductive layers. First and second mechanical structures secure the moveable micromachined member to a substrate of the MEMS device and include respective first and second electrical interconnect layers coupled in series, with the first electrically conductive layer of the moveable micromachined member and each other, between first and second electrical terminals to enable conduction of a first joule-heating current from the first electrical terminal to the second electrical terminal through the first electrically conductive layer of the moveable micromachined member.

A microelectromechanical system (MEMS) resonator includes a degenerately-doped single-crystal silicon layer and a piezoelectric material layer disposed on the degenerately-doped single-crystal silicon layer. An electrically-conductive material layer is disposed on the piezoelectric material layer opposite the degenerately-doped single-crystal silicon layer, and patterned to form first and second electrodes.

A fabrication method and associated apparatus is disclosed where an electromechanical resonator made out of lithium niobate is fabricated on the same substrate as a Josephson Junction-based transmon qubit. The starting material may be a high resistivity silicon wafer with a thin layer of lithium niobate (LiNbO3). The fabrication method may include removing lithium niobate selectively from the substrate to preserve the quality of the substrate. The selective removal maintains defect free qualities of the silicon surface, thus enabling the fabrication of high performance Josephson Junction-based transmon qubit on the surface.

A self-referencing, microelectromechanical system with dual mechanical modes for temperature independent environmental sensing including a resonator configured to resonate in a first fundamental width extensional mode and in a second contour mode, including: an input port; an output port; a top electrode comprising an aluminum chromium layer; a silicon-oxide layer; an aluminum-nitride layer; and an RF ground comprising a silicon layer. Upon passing a signal to the top electrode of the resonator, the top electrode and the RF ground establish an electric field to enable transduction through the piezoelectric, aluminum-nitride layer, and the resonator has adjacent contour modes close in frequency such that mechanical resonances of the resonator in differing resonance modes shift together as a function of temperature, the simultaneous shift of the mechanical resonances remaining constant across the temperature range enabling sensing of various criteria.

An elastic wave device includes a supporting substrate, a high-acoustic-velocity film stacked on the supporting substrate and in which an acoustic velocity of a bulk wave propagating therein is higher than an acoustic velocity of an elastic wave propagating in a piezoelectric film, a low-acoustic-velocity film stacked on the high-acoustic-velocity film and in which an acoustic velocity of a bulk wave propagating therein is lower than an acoustic velocity of a bulk wave propagating in the piezoelectric film, the piezoelectric film is stacked on the low-acoustic-velocity film, and an IDT electrode stacked on a surface of the piezoelectric film.

An elastic wave device includes a supporting substrate, a high-acoustic-velocity film stacked on the supporting substrate and in which an acoustic velocity of a bulk wave propagating therein is higher than an acoustic velocity of an elastic wave propagating in a piezoelectric film, a low-acoustic-velocity film stacked on the high-acoustic-velocity film and in which an acoustic velocity of a bulk wave propagating therein is lower than an acoustic velocity of a bulk wave propagating in the piezoelectric film, the piezoelectric film is stacked on the low-acoustic-velocity film, and an IDT electrode stacked on a surface of the piezoelectric film.