Aspects of this disclosure relate to bulk acoustic wave resonators. A bulk acoustic wave resonator includes a patterned mass loading layer that affects a resonant frequency of the bulk acoustic wave resonator. The patterned mass loading layer can have a duty factor in a range from 0.2 to 0.8 in a main acoustically active region of the bulk acoustic wave resonator. Related filters, acoustic wave dies, radio frequency modules, wireless communications devices, and methods are disclosed.

A bulk-acoustic wave resonator may include: a substrate; a resonance portion; a first electrode disposed on the substrate; a piezoelectric layer disposed on the first electrode in the resonance portion; a second electrode disposed on the piezoelectric portion in the resonance portion; and a seed layer disposed in a lower portion of the first electrode. The seed layer may be formed of titanium (Ti) having a hexagonal close packed (HCP) structure, or an alloy of Ti having the HCP structure. The seed layer may have a thickness greater than or equal to 300 Å and less than or equal to 1000 Å, or may be thinner than the first electrode.

A bulk acoustic resonator architecture is fabricated by epitaxially forming a piezoelectric film on a top surface of post formed from an underlying substrate. In some cases, the acoustic resonator is fabricated to filter multiple frequencies. In some such cases, the resonator device includes two different resonator structures on a single substrate, each resonator structure configured to filter a desired frequency. Including two different acoustic resonators in a single RF acoustic resonator device enables that single device to filter two different frequencies in a relatively small footprint.

A bulk-acoustic wave resonator includes: a first electrode; a piezoelectric layer at least partially disposed on an upper portion of the first electrode; and a second electrode disposed to cover at least a portion of the piezoelectric layer. The second electrode includes a frame disposed at an edge of an active region of the bulk-acoustic wave resonator, and the first electrode, the piezoelectric layer and the second electrode are disposed to overlap one another at the edge of the active region. The frame includes a wall disposed at the edge of the active region and a trench formed on an internal side of the wall. An internal boundary line of the trench has a concave-convex shape in a plane parallel to an upper surface of the frame.

An acoustic resonator includes: a resonating unit including a resonating unit including a piezoelectric layer and first and second electrodes disposed on a lower side and an upper side of the piezoelectric layer, respectively; a substrate disposed on a lower side of the resonating unit; a support unit providing a cavity between the substrate and the resonating unit; and an intermediate metal layer separated from the second electrode and disposed in the resonating unit such that at least a portion thereof is surrounded by the piezoelectric layer and the second electrode.

Bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators and particularly top electrodes with step arrangements for BAW resonators are disclosed. Top electrodes on piezoelectric layers are disclosed that include a border (BO) region with a dual-step arrangement where an inner step and an outer step are formed with increasing heights toward peripheral edges of the top electrode. Dielectric spacer layers may be provided between the outer steps and the piezoelectric layer. Passivation layers are disclosed that extend over the top electrode either to peripheral edges of the piezoelectric layer or that are inset from peripheral edges of the piezoelectric layer. Piezoelectric layers may be arranged with reduced thickness portions in areas that are uncovered by top electrodes. BAW resonators as disclosed herein are provided with high quality factors and suppression of spurious modes while also providing weakened BO modes that are shifted farther away from passbands of such BAW resonators.

A bulk acoustic resonator includes: a substrate; a first electrode disposed on the substrate; a piezoelectric layer disposed to cover at least a portion of the first electrode; a second electrode disposed to cover at least a portion of the piezoelectric layer; a metal pad connected to the first electrode and the second electrode; and a protective layer disposed to cover at least the metal pad.

An acoustic wave device includes a piezoelectric layer that is made of lithium niobate or lithium tantalate, and a plurality of pairs of electrodes opposed to each other in a direction intersecting with a thickness direction of the piezoelectric layer, in which a bulk wave in a thickness shear primary mode is used or d/p is about 0.5 or lower when a thickness of the piezoelectric layer is d and a distance between centers of mutually adjacent electrodes among the plurality of pairs of electrodes is p. The plurality of pairs of electrodes include at least one pair of first electrodes of a first acoustic wave resonator and at least one pair of second electrodes of a second acoustic wave resonator. A direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the second electrodes in the second acoustic wave resonator is inclined at an angle that is greater than 0° and smaller than 360° with respect to a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the first electrodes in the first acoustic wave resonator.

An acoustic wave device includes a piezoelectric layer, first and second upper electrodes, first and second lower electrodes, and first and second acoustic reflection films. In plan view, first and second resonator portions are respectively defined by portions where the first upper electrode and the first lower electrode overlap and where the second upper electrode and the second lower electrode overlap. The first and second acoustic reflection films respectively include first and second metal layers. First and second overlapping portions are respectively defined by portions where only the first upper electrode overlaps with the first metal layer and where only the second upper electrode overlaps with the second metal layer. An area of the first resonator portion is smaller than an area of the second resonator portion and an area of the first overlapping portion is larger than an area of the second overlapping portion.

An acoustic wave device includes a piezoelectric substrate and an IDT electrode including electrode fingers. A portion of the IDT electrode in which the electrode fingers overlap with each other in a propagation direction of an acoustic wave is an intersecting region. The intersecting region includes a central region on a center side in an extending direction of the electrode fingers, and a first region and a second region located on respective sides of the central region in the extending direction of the electrode fingers. In the central region, a dielectric film is provided between the electrode fingers, and the dielectric film does not overlap with at least a portion of the electrode fingers when seen in plan view.