Prediction of the Strain Response of Poly-AlN/(100)Si Surface Acoustic Wave Resonator and Experimental Analysis

The strain sensitivity of the Aluminum Nitride (AlN)/Silicon (Si) surface acoustic wave resonator (SAWR) is predicted based on a modeling method introduced in this work, and further compared with experimental results. The strain influence on both the period of the inter-digital transducer (IDT) and the sound velocity is taken into consideration when modeling the strain response. From the modeling results, AlN and Si have opposite responses to strain; hence, for the AlN/Si-based SAWR, both a positive and a negative strain coefficient factor can be achieved by changing the thickness of the AlN layer, which is confirmed by strain response testing based on a silicon cantilever structure with two AlN configurations (1 mu m and 3 mu m in thickness, respectively).