Surface acoustic wave device

Abstract

A surface acoustic wave device includes a piezoelectric substrate, an IDT electrode that is provided on the piezoelectric substrate and includes combtooth-shaped electrode fingers, and a wiring electrode that is connected to the IDT electrode. A line width of the electrode fingers at a lower edge thereof and a line width of the electrode fingers at an upper edge thereof in a cross section of the electrode fingers that is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the electrode fingers is smaller than a maximum line width of the electrode fingers.

Claims

1. A surface acoustic wave device comprising: a piezoelectric substrate; an IDT electrode that is provided on the piezoelectric substrate and includes combtooth-shaped electrode fingers and a busbar; and a wiring electrode that is connected to the busbar; wherein at least a portion of the wiring electrode is provided on the busbar; a line width at a lower edge and a line width at an upper edge in a cross section of each of the electrode fingers that is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of each of the electrode fingers, are smaller than a maximum line width of the electrode finger; and a line width at a lower edge and a line width at an upper edge in a cross section of the busbar that is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of each of the electrode fingers, are smaller than a maximum line width of the busbar.

2. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein a taper is provided at an end surface of the busbar where the wiring electrode is connected.

3. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein a height of a portion of at least one of the electrode fingers and the busbar from the piezoelectric substrate to the portion of the electrode fingers having the maximum line width is about or less a height of the electrode fingers.

4. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the IDT electrode and the busbar includes a plurality of layers including at least a joining layer that contacts the piezoelectric substrate and a main electrode layer that is provided on the joining layer.

5. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the main electrode layer and the busbar is formed of Al, an alloy containing Al, Cu, or an alloy containing Cu.

6. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 4, wherein the joining layer is formed of Ti, Cr, Ni or NiCr.

7. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the IDT electrode and the busbar is made of a material that is formed using a liftoff method.

8. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric substrate is made of one of 42 Y-cut LiTaO.sub.3, LiNbO.sub.3 and Li.sub.2B.sub.4O.sub.7.

9. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of each of the electrode fingers and the busbar includes only one layer.

10. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of each of the electrode fingers and the busbar includes at least three layers.

11. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein a size of an interval between portions of the electrode fingers that contact the piezoelectric substrate is constant.

12. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the wiring electrode includes at least two layers.

13. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the wiring electrode includes only one layer.

14. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the wiring electrode includes at least three layers.

15. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the IDT electrode includes a pair of IDT electrodes.

16. The surface acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the IDT electrode and the wiring electrode include a different number of layers.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a surface acoustic wave device 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the surface acoustic wave device 100 illustrating a portion extending along a single dot chain line A-A in FIG. 1.

(3) FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating electrode fingers 3a and 3b of the surface acoustic wave device 100.

(4) FIGS. 4A-4D are sectional views illustrating steps used in an example of a method of manufacturing the surface acoustic wave device 100, where each of FIGS. 4A-4D corresponds to the portions extending along the single dot chain line A-A in FIG. 1.

(5) FIGS. 5E-5G sectional views and illustrate steps continuing on from FIGS. 4A-4D, where each of FIGS. 5E-5G corresponds to the portion extending along the single dot chain line A-A in FIG. 1.

(6) FIGS. 6H-6J are sectional views and illustrate steps continuing on from FIGS. 5E-5G, where each of FIGS. 6H-6J corresponds to the portion extending along the single dot chain line A-A in FIG. 1.

(7) FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating a surface acoustic wave device 200 of the related art disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-102158.

(8) FIG. 8 is a sectional view illustrating a case in which a method of preventing an insulation breakage between electrode fingers of different potentials disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-85968 is applied to the surface acoustic wave device 200, and illustrates a part extending along a single dot chain line X-X in FIG. 7.

(9) FIG. 9 is a sectional view illustrating a case in which an electrical connection between an IDT electrode 102 (busbar 104) and a wiring electrode 105 is inadequate when the method of preventing an insulation breakage between electrode fingers of different potentials disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-102158 is applied to the surface acoustic wave device 200, and illustrates a part extending along a single dot chain line Y-Y in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(10) Hereafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described along with the drawings.

(11) FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrate a surface acoustic wave device 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view, FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating a portion extending along a single dot chain line A-A in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of electrode fingers of an IDT electrode.

(12) The surface acoustic wave device 100 includes a piezoelectric substrate 1. The piezoelectric substrate 1 preferably is composed of 42 Y-cut LiTaO.sub.3, for example. However, the material and the cut angle of the piezoelectric substrate 1 are not limited to these examples and another material such as LiNbO.sub.3 or Li.sub.2B.sub.4O.sub.7 may be used for example and the cut angle may also be appropriately chosen.

(13) IDT electrodes 2 are provided on the piezoelectric substrate 1. Each IDT electrode 2 includes comb-tooth-shaped electrode fingers 3a and 3b, which have different potentials, and busbars 4. in FIG. 1 represents the wavelength of a surface acoustic wave.

(14) As is clear from FIG. 2, in each IDT electrode 2, the electrode fingers 3a and 3b and the busbars 4 each preferably include two layers. However, the numbers of layers of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b and the busbars 4 are not limited to two, and may instead be one or three or more.

(15) In other words, the electrode fingers 3a and 3b of the IDT electrodes 2 each preferably include two layers, namely, an electrode finger lower layer 3f that contacts the piezoelectric substrate 1 and an electrode finger upper layer 3s that is provided on the electrode finger lower layer 3f. The busbars 4 of the IDT electrodes 2 also each preferably include two layers, namely, a busbar lower layer 4f that contacts the piezoelectric substrate 1 and a busbar upper layer 4s that is provided on the busbar lower layer 4f.

(16) The electrode finger lower layer 3f and the busbar lower layer 4f define and function as joining layers that improve the strength of the connections to the piezoelectric substrate 1. The electrode finger lower layer 3f and the busbar lower layer 4f are preferably composed of Ti, for example. However the material is not limited to this and may be Cr, Ni or NiCr, for example.

(17) The electrode finger upper layer 3s and the busbar upper layer 4s define and function as main electrode layers. The electrode finger upper layer 3s and the busbar upper layer 4s are composed of AlCu, for example. However, the material is not limited to this and may be Al or another alloy containing Al or may be Cu or another alloy containing Cu.

(18) As illustrated in FIG. 3, the electrode fingers 3a and 3b of the IDT electrode 2 each have a line width W.sub.D at a lower edge thereof that contacts the piezoelectric substrate 1 and a line width W.sub.U at an upper edge thereof when looking at a cross section that is perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b. The line width W.sub.D at the lower edge and the line width W.sub.U at the upper edge are smaller than a maximum line width W.sub.MAX of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b.

(19) Consequently, in the surface acoustic wave device 100, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the size of the interval Df between the portions of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b that contact the piezoelectric substrate 1 is able to be maintained constant even when a pitch P of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b of different potentials has been made small. Although the insulation resistance of the piezoelectric substrate 1 is small compared with that of air, since the size of the interval Df is able to be maintained constant in the surface acoustic wave device 100 even when the pitch P has been made small, an insulation breakage caused by a short circuit occurring via the piezoelectric substrate 1 is unlikely to occur even when a surge voltage is applied. Therefore, a short-circuit breakage is unlikely to occur between the electrode fingers 3a and 3b of different potentials in the surface acoustic wave device 100 even though the pitch P between the electrode fingers 3a and 3b of different potentials has been made small in order to handle high frequencies, for example.

(20) The wiring electrodes 5 are connected to the busbars 4 of the surface acoustic wave device 100. As is clear from FIG. 2, in this preferred embodiment, the wiring electrodes 5 also reach preferably include two layers, namely, a wiring electrode lower layer 5f and a wiring electrode upper layer 5s that is provided on the wiring electrode lower layer 5f. However, the number of layers of the wiring electrodes 5 may be appropriately chosen and the wiring electrodes may instead include only one layer or three or more layers. In this preferred embodiment, the wiring electrode lower layer 5f preferably is composed of Ti, for example. However the material is not limited to this and may be Cr, Ni or NiCr, for example. In addition, the wiring electrode upper layer 5s is preferably composed of Al, for example. However, the material is not limited to this and may be an alloy containing Al, may be Cu or may be an alloy containing Cu.

(21) Reliable electrical connections are realized between the busbars 4 and the wiring electrodes 5 in the surface acoustic wave device 100. As illustrated in FIG. 2, this is because a taper T is provided at the end surface of the busbar 4 where the wiring electrode 5 is connected to the busbar 4. In other words, this is because, when the taper T is provided at the end surface of the busbar 4, a metal film is deposited on the taper T and this metal film functions so as to connect a metal film deposited on the piezoelectric substrate 1 and a metal film deposited on the busbar 4 when the wiring electrode 5 is formed using a liftoff method, for example. In the surface acoustic wave device 100, the wiring electrodes 5 are each formed continuously, without breaks, from the region above the piezoelectric substrate 1 to the region above the busbar 4.

(22) When the IDT electrodes 2 are formed using a liftoff method or the like, the line width W.sub.D of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b at the lower edges thereof and the line width W.sub.U of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b at the upper edges thereof are made to be smaller than the maximum line width W.sub.MAX of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b, and the tapers T of the busbars 4 are formed in a corresponding manner. In other words, tapered edges are formed to extend from the upper edges of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b to the portions of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b having the maximum line width by making the line width W.sub.U of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b at the upper edges thereof be smaller than the portions of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b having the maximum line width W.sub.MAX, and in the case where the IDT electrodes 2 are formed using a liftoff method or the like, the tapers T are simultaneously formed at the end surfaces of the busbars 4 where the wiring electrodes 5 are connected.

(23) A height H.sub.1 of the portions of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b having the maximum line width W.sub.MAX is preferably about or less a height H.sub.2 of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b up to the upper edges of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b. If the height H1 exceeds about , the distance between the taper T of the busbar 4 and the piezoelectric substrate 1 becomes too large and the reliability of the electrical connection between the busbar 4 and the wiring electrode 5 may be degraded.

(24) Hereafter, a non-limiting example of a method of manufacturing the surface acoustic wave device 100 according to this preferred embodiment will be described while referring to FIGS. 4A-6J, which are sectional views illustrating steps of the manufacturing method and illustrate a portion extending along the single dot chain line A-A in FIG. 1.

(25) First, as illustrated in FIG. 4A, the piezoelectric substrate 1 is prepared.

(26) Next, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, a positive resist 6 is applied onto the piezoelectric substrate 1. After that, the positive resist 6 is subjected to a chlorobenzene treatment.

(27) Next, as illustrated in FIG. 4C, a photomask 7 having a desired opening pattern 7a is arranged on the positive resist 6.

(28) Next, as illustrated in FIG. 4D, the positive resist 6 is exposed to light via the photomask 7. At this time, an under exposure condition is adopted in which the amount of exposure is less than the proper exposure amount.

(29) Next, as illustrated in FIG. 5E, the positive resist 6 is developed. As a result, openings 8 having desired shapes are formed in the positive resist 6. Overhanging portions 8a are formed at the tops of the openings 8. The overhanging portions 8a are formed as a result of the surface of the positive resist becoming softer when the positive resist 6 applied onto the piezoelectric substrate 1 is subjected to the chlorobenzene treatment. Base portions 8b are formed at the bottoms of the openings 8. The base portions 8b are formed as a result of the underexposure condition being used in which the amount of exposure is less than the proper exposure amount when the positive resist 6 is exposed to light.

(30) Next, as illustrated in FIG. 5F, a Ti layer 9 having a thickness of about 10 nm and an AlCu layer 10 having a thickness of about 150 nm, for example, are sequentially formed on the piezoelectric substrate 1 through the positive resist 6 by using vacuum deposition. As a result, the electrode fingers 3a and 3b and the busbars 4 of the IDT electrodes 2 are formed inside the openings 8 of the positive resist 6. At this time, since the overhanging portions 8a have been formed at the tops of the openings 8 and the base portions 8b have been formed at the bottoms of the openings 8, the cross sections of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b come to have a shape in which the line width W.sub.D at the lower edges and the line width W.sub.U at the upper edges of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b are both smaller than the maximum line width W.sub.MAX of the electrode fingers 3a and 3b, as illustrated in FIG. 3. In addition, since the overhanging portions 8a have been formed at the tops of the openings 8, the tapers T are formed at the end surfaces of the busbars 4 where the wiring electrodes 5 are connected.

(31) Next, as illustrated in FIG. 5G, the positive resist 6 is removed. As a result, the electrode fingers 3a and 3b and the busbars 4 of the IDT electrodes 2 are left on the surface of the piezoelectric substrate 1.

(32) Next, a negative resist is applied onto the piezoelectric substrate 1. After that, the negative resist is exposed to light through a photomask having a desired opening pattern and is developed, whereby, as illustrated in FIG. 6H, a negative resist 11 having a desired pattern is formed. The negative resist 11 is a negative type of resist and therefore the end surfaces thereof have a reverse taper shape.

(33) Next, as illustrated in FIG. 6I, a Ti layer 12 having a thickness of about 100 nm and an Al layer 13 having a thickness of about 1000 nm are sequentially formed on the piezoelectric substrate 1 via the negative resist 11 by using vacuum deposition. As a result, the wiring electrodes 5, which are connected to the busbars 4 of the IDT electrodes 2, are formed. Since the tapers T are formed at the end surfaces of the busbars 4, reliable electrical connections are realized between the busbars 4 and the wiring electrodes 5.

(34) Finally, as illustrated in FIG. 6J, manufacturing of the surface acoustic wave device 100 according to this preferred embodiment is completed by removing the negative resist 11.

(35) Since the surface acoustic wave device 100 is manufactured using a liftoff method in the above-described manufacturing method, the freedom with which the respective materials can be selected is improved compared with a case where a surface acoustic wave device is manufactured using a dry etching method or the like.

(36) Examples of the structure of the surface acoustic wave device 100 according to preferred embodiments and a manufacturing method therefor have been described above. However, the invention of the present application is not limited to the above-described content and various design changes can be made thereto whilst not departing from the gist thereof.

(37) For example, although one pair of IDT electrodes 2 is provided on the piezoelectric substrate 1 in the surface acoustic wave device 100, the circuit arrangement of the surface acoustic wave device may be appropriately chosen and the number of IDT electrodes 2 is not limited to one pair.

(38) Furthermore, although the IDT electrodes 2 and the wiring electrodes 5 of the surface acoustic wave device 100 each preferably include two layers, the numbers of layers of the IDT electrodes 2 and the wiring electrodes 5 are not limited to two. The IDT electrodes 2 and the wiring electrodes 5 may have different numbers of layers. In addition, the materials of the IDT electrodes 2 and the wiring electrodes 5 may be appropriately chosen and are not limited to those described above.

(39) Furthermore, although the electrical connections between the IDT electrodes and the wiring electrodes 5 are realized in the busbars 4 of the IDT electrodes 2 in the surface acoustic wave device 100, the surface acoustic wave device 100 is not limited to this configuration and a configuration may instead be adopted in which connection electrodes that are electrically connected to the IDT electrodes 2 are formed and these connection electrodes and the wiring electrodes 5 are electrically connected to each other, for example.

(40) Preferred embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above, but the presently disclosed embodiments and modifications are merely illustrative in all points should not be interpreted as being limiting. The scope of the present invention is to be defined by the scope of the claims and equivalents to the scope of the claims and all changes within the scope of the claims are to be included within the scope of the present invention.

(41) While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.