COUPLED RESONATOR STRUCTURE
20180219530 ยท 2018-08-02
Inventors
Cpc classification
H03H9/02874
ELECTRICITY
International classification
H03H9/00
ELECTRICITY
Abstract
Various arrangements for electrically coupling the electrodes of coupled resonator structures (CRSes) to form unique two- and three-terminal devices as well as the use of such CRSes in filter networks are disclosed.
Claims
1. A device comprising: a network input and a network output; a filter network coupled between the network input and the network output and comprising a plurality of coupled resonator structures that are electrically coupled together, wherein each coupled resonator structure (CRS) comprises: a substrate; a bottom transducer comprising a first bottom electrode over the substrate, a first piezoelectric layer over the first bottom electrode, and a first top electrode over the first piezoelectric layer; a first acoustic coupling structure over the bottom transducer; and a top transducer over the first acoustic coupling structure and comprising a second bottom electrode, a second piezoelectric layer over the second bottom electrode, and a second top electrode over the second piezoelectric layer, wherein the bottom transducer is vertically acoustically coupled to the top transducer via the first acoustic coupling structure, wherein an arrangement of a first CRS of the plurality of CRSes is one of a first arrangement, a second arrangement, a third arrangement, and a fourth arrangement, and an arrangement of a second CRS of the plurality of CRSes is a different one of the first arrangement, the second arrangement, the third arrangement, and the fourth arrangement, wherein: in the first arrangement, the second top electrode is a first terminal, the first bottom electrode is a second terminal, and the first top electrode is directly electrically coupled to the second bottom electrode to provide a third terminal of a first three terminal device; in the second arrangement, the second top electrode is a fourth terminal, the first top electrode is a fifth terminal, and the first bottom electrode is directly electrically coupled to the second bottom electrode to provide a sixth terminal of a second three terminal device; in a third arrangement, the first bottom electrode is directly electrically coupled to the second top electrode to provide a seventh terminal and the first top electrode is directly electrically coupled to the second bottom electrode to provide an eighth terminal of a first two terminal device; and in a fourth arrangement, the first bottom electrode is directly electrically coupled to the second bottom electrode to provide a ninth terminal and the first top electrode is directly electrically coupled to the second top electrode to provide a tenth terminal of a second two terminal device.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein the first CRS has the first arrangement, and the second CRS has the second arrangement.
3. The device of claim 1 wherein the first CRS has the first arrangement, and the second CRS has the third arrangement.
4. The device of claim 1 wherein the first CRS has the first arrangement, and the second CRS has the fourth arrangement.
5. The device of claim 1 wherein the first CRS has the second arrangement, and the second CRS has the third arrangement.
6. The device of claim 1 wherein the first CRS has the second arrangement, and the second CRS has the fourth arrangement.
7. The device of claim 1 wherein the first CRS has the third arrangement, and the second CRS has the fourth arrangement.
8. The device of claim 1 wherein the top transducer of the first CRS is structurally identical to the top transducer of the second CRS, and the bottom transducer of the first CRS is structurally identical to the bottom transducer of the second CRS.
9. The device of claim 8 wherein the first CRS has a first series resonance frequency, and the second CRS has a second series resonance frequency that is different than the first series resonance frequency.
10. The device of claim 1 wherein the first CRS has a first series resonance frequency, and the second CRS has a second series resonance frequency that is different than the first series resonance frequency.
11. The device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of CRSes form a ladder network.
12. The device of claim 11 wherein the first CRS is a shunt element of the ladder network, and the second CRS is a series element of the ladder network.
13. The device of claim 1 wherein an arrangement of a third CRS of the plurality of CRSes is a different one of the first arrangement, the second arrangement, the third arrangement, and the fourth arrangement than the arrangement of the first CRS and the arrangement of the second CRS.
14. The device of claim 1 wherein the arrangement of the first CRS of the plurality of CRSes is the first arrangement, the arrangement of the second CRS of the plurality of CRSes is the second arrangement, an arrangement of a third CRS of the plurality of CRSes is the third arrangement, and an arrangement of a fourth CRS of the plurality of CRSes is the fourth arrangement.
15. The device of claim 1 wherein the filter network further comprises at least one BAW resonator that is electrically coupled to the plurality of CRSes.
16. The device of claim 15 wherein the first CRS has a first series resonance frequency, the second CRS has a second series resonance frequency that is different than the first series resonance frequency, and the at least one BAW resonator has a third series resonance frequency that is different than the first and second series resonance frequencies.
17. A coupled resonator structure (CRS) comprising: a substrate; a bottom transducer comprising a first bottom electrode over the substrate, a first piezoelectric layer over the first bottom electrode, and a first top electrode over the first piezoelectric layer; a first acoustic coupling structure over the bottom transducer; and a top transducer over the first acoustic coupling structure and comprising a second bottom electrode, a second piezoelectric layer over the second bottom electrode, and a second top electrode over the second piezoelectric layer, wherein the bottom transducer is acoustically coupled to the top transducer, the first top electrode is directly electrically coupled to the second top electrode, and the first bottom electrode is directly electrically coupled to the second bottom electrode.
18. The CRS of claim 17 wherein a series resonance frequency of the top transducer is about the same as a series resonance frequency of the bottom transducer.
19. The CRS of claim 17 wherein a series resonance frequency of the top transducer is different from a series resonance frequency of the bottom transducer.
20. The CRS of claim 17 wherein the top transducer is aligned directly over the bottom transducer.
21. A coupled resonator structure (CRS) comprising: a substrate; a bottom transducer comprising a first bottom electrode over the substrate, a first piezoelectric layer over the first bottom electrode, and a first top electrode over the first piezoelectric layer; a first acoustic coupling structure over the bottom transducer; and a top transducer over the first acoustic coupling structure and comprising a second bottom electrode, a second piezoelectric layer over the second bottom electrode, and a second top electrode over the second piezoelectric layer, wherein the bottom transducer is acoustically coupled to the top transducer, the first top electrode is directly electrically coupled to the second bottom electrode, and the first bottom electrode is directly electrically coupled to the second top electrode.
22. The CRS of claim 21 wherein a series resonance frequency of the top transducer is about the same as a series resonance frequency of the bottom transducer.
23. The CRS of claim 21 wherein a series resonance frequency of the top transducer is different from a series resonance frequency of the bottom transducer.
24. The CRS of claim 21 wherein the top transducer is aligned directly over the bottom transducer.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0035] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
[0036] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
[0037]
[0038]
[0039]
[0040]
[0041]
[0042]
[0043]
[0044]
[0045]
[0046]
[0047]
[0048]
[0049]
[0050]
[0051]
[0052]
[0053]
[0054]
[0055]
[0056]
[0057]
[0058]
[0059]
[0060]
[0061]
[0062]
[0063]
[0064]
[0065]
[0066]
[0067]
[0068]
[0069]
[0070]
[0071]
[0072]
[0073]
[0074]
[0075]
[0076]
[0077]
[0078]
[0079]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0080] The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.
[0081] It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As used herein, the term and/or includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
[0082] It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being on or extending onto another element, it can be directly on or extend directly onto the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being directly on or extending directly onto another element, there are no intervening elements present. Likewise, it will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being over or extending over another element, it can be directly over or extend directly over the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being directly over or extending directly over another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being connected or coupled to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being directly connected or directly coupled to another element, there are no intervening elements present.
[0083] Relative terms such as below or above or upper or lower or horizontal or vertical may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element, layer, or region to another element, layer, or region as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that these terms and those discussed previously are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures.
[0084] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms a, an, and the are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms comprises, comprising, includes, and/or including when used herein specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
[0085] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
[0086] As defined herein, the term coupled without being preceded with the adjective acoustically refers to an electrical coupling as opposed to an acoustic coupling. The term acoustically coupled refers to an acoustic coupling as opposed to an electrical coupling. Further, the phrase about the same as when referring to the series resonance frequency of two or more devices means that the series resonance frequencies of the devices are within 0.1% of each other.
[0087] While the concepts provided herein are applicable to various technologies, these concepts are particularly useful in mobile terminals, such as mobile telephones, tablets, computers, and like smart devices. The following provides an overview of such devices. Today's mobile terminals must communicate using different communication technologies in different bands, which vary significantly in both bandwidth and frequency. To further complicate matters, data rates are ever increasing and the there is a need to transmit and receive over these different bands at the same time. As a result, mobile terminals have very complicated front-end configurations and are starting to employ multiple input multiple output (MIMO) transmission and reception technology, which requires the use of multiple antennas.
[0088] The concepts described below relate to different arrangements for electrically coupling the top and bottom transducers 58, 46 of a CRS, wherein the different arrangements correspond to different impedance behaviors over frequency. These arrangements afford designers tremendous flexibility in filter design. A first arrangement is illustrated in
[0089] An electrical model of this arrangement is illustrated in
[0090] As illustrated in
[0091]
Va=+rw*L*Ib;
Vb=+rw*L*Ia;
Vb=Z*Ib where Z is the load impedance tied to node B; and
Va/Ia=Zinv=+(L*w).sup.2/Z.
For
[0092] Since Zinv.sup.2=Ka.sup.2/Z, Ka=L*w, where w is 2**f, where f is frequency.
[0093] The pi-type electrical equivalent includes a series impedance ZA that extends between the input that output, an input shunt element coupled between the input and ground, and an output shunt element coupled between the output and ground. Each of the input and output shunt elements are made of an impedance Zs wherein Zm+j*Lw is in parallel with a capacitance C0. Each shunt impedance Zs is equivalent to that of a shunt resonator that has a series resonance frequency, fs, occurring at 1/(2**((Lm+L)*Cm)). Notably, the series resonance frequency, fs, for the shunt impedance Zs is based on the Lm+L inductance, where L is the coupling equivalent inductance based on Ka=Lw. The series impedance ZA between the input and output is such that ZA=(Zm+j*L*w)*(Zmj*L*w)/(j*L*w)=(Zm.sup.2+(L*w).sup.2)/(j*L*w), where Zm=1/(j*Cm*w)+j*Lm*w. A symbol for the CRS arrangement A1 of
[0094] CRS arrangement A2 is the same as that of
[0095] As a result, the shunt impedance at both the input and output for CRS arrangement A2 is Zmj*Lw in parallel with C0m, which again is an equivalent impedance of a shunt acoustic resonator that has a series resonance frequency at 1/(2**((LmL)*Cm)). Notably, the series resonance frequency is now based on LmL (instead of Lm+L, as provided in the CRS arrangement A1), where L is the coupling equivalent inductance based on Ka=Lw (i.e. negative coupling with corresponds to an electrical inversion of phase). Accordingly, swapping the connections for the top and bottom electrodes 48, 50 of the bottom transducer 58 for a CRS, without changing any physical characteristics, such as size, shape, material compositions, layer thicknesses, and the like, changes the series resonance frequency between 1/(2**((LmL)*Cm)) and 1/(2**((Lm+L)*Cm)). Being able to choose different series resonance frequencies for the same CRS configuration provides designers greater flexibility in circuit and layout design, especially when designing ladder or like filter networks with CRS and other BAW resonators 10.
[0096] The above CRS arrangements A1 and A2 are effectively three terminal devices, which include an input, and output, and ground terminals. The following embodiments employ the concepts described above in a two terminal configuration, which has an input terminal and an output terminal, wherein there is a virtual ground provided in the coupling structure 54.
[0097]
[0098] This equivalent impedance of CRS arrangement A3 has a series resonance frequency at 1/(2**((Lm+L)*Cm)), which is made of an equivalent inductance of (Lm+L)/2. This is considered a non-inverted coupling configuration with an acoustic coupling coefficient of +Ka. A standard BAW resonator 10 that corresponds in shape, size, and materials to the one of the top or bottom transducers 46, 58 would have a series resonance frequency at 1/(2**((Lm)*Cm)). The equivalent impedance of the CRS arrangement A3 is effectively that of a capacitance of 2C0 in parallel with a series coupled inductance of (Lm+L)/2 and a capacitance of 2*Cm. A symbol for the CRS arrangement A3 of
[0099] A fourth CRS arrangement A4 is illustrated in
[0100] The equivalent impedance of CRS arrangement A4 has a series resonance frequency at 1/(2**((LmL)*Cm)), which is made of an equivalent inductance of (LmL)/2. As noted, this is considered an inverted coupling arrangement with an acoustic coupling coefficient of Ka. A standard BAW resonator 10 that corresponds in shape, size, and materials to the one of the top or bottom transducers 46, 58 would have a series resonance frequency at 1/(2**((Lm)*Cm)). The equivalent impedance of the CRS arrangement A4 is effectively that of a capacitance of 2C0 in parallel with a series coupled inductance of (LmL)/2 and a capacitance of 2*Cm. A symbol for the CRS arrangement A4 of
[0101] With reference to
[0102] Notably, the configurations for each of the CRS arrangements A1, A4, A2, may be the same or different with respect to size, shape, layer thicknesses, series resonance frequencies, and the like. These differences are represented by the variations in component and coupling values. For CRS arrangement A1, there is a positive coupling coefficient equal to Ka1=L1w, for CRS arrangement A4, there is a negative coupling coefficient represented by Ka2=L2w, and for CRS arrangement A2, there is a negative coupling coefficient represented by Ka3=L3w.
[0103] Accordingly, for the CRS arrangement A1, impedance Za1=[1/(jCm1*w)+j*(Lm1L)w]*[1/(jCm1*w)+j*(Lm1+L)w]/(j*L*w), for impedance Za3 of CRS arrangement A2, Za3=[1/(jCm3*w)+j*(Lm3L)w]*[1/(jCm3*w)+j*(Lm3+L)w]/(j*L*w). For CRS arrangement A4, the impedance is represented by a capacitance of 2C0 in parallel with a capacitance of 2*Cn2 in series with an inductance (Ln2L)/2. For
[0104] Another filter example N2 is provided in
[0105]
[0106] Yet another variant is illustrated in
[0107]
[0108]
[0109]
[0110]
[0111]
[0112]
[0113]
[0114] Notably, the same or similarly sized BAW resonators 10 and 10 as well as the CRS arrangements A1, A2, A3, A4, and A4, may include transducers of the same or similar size, yet the ability to change the electrical connections to change the series resonance frequencies fs provide tremendous flexibility in using similarly sized transducers while achieving the different series resonance frequencies, which are often needed to create various filters, including ladder filters.