Characterisation of PZT in Thin Film Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonators

ABSTRACTPb(Zr0.53, Ti0.47)O3 (PZT) thin films are potentially interesting as piezoelectric layer in bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators. We investigated properties and performance of {111} and {100} textured, dense films deposited by sol-gel techniques in the frequency range of 1 to 2 GHz. The resonators were fabricated on Si wafers using deep silicon etching to create a membrane structure and using platinum as top and bottom electrodes. The best response of the resonators was observed at a bias voltage of −15kV/cm with values of around 10% for the coupling constant and around 50 for the quality factor. This voltage corresponds to the maximal value of the piezoelectric constant d33 and minimal value of the dielectric permittivity measured as a function of the electric field. Resonance and antiresonance frequencies were strongly influenced by a bias voltage, showing a hysteretic behaviour as expected for ferroelectrics. Both of these frequencies shifted in the same direction. As a consequence, the dc voltage can be potentially used to shift the whole band of a filter. In unipolar operation, the coupling constant could be varied from 6 to 10 %. Materials parameters were extracted from the admittance as a function of frequency. Dielectric, piezoelectric and elastic properties of textured PZT films are reported and compared to direct (low frequency) measurements and to literature values. It was found that PZT thin films have lower stiffness than the one of PZT bulk ceramics and it was observed that {111}-textured films are stiffer than {100}-textured films.