Reactive ion beam etching of piezoelectric ScAlN for bulk acoustic wave device applications

Abstract

Etching piezoelectric Scandium Aluminum Nitride (ScAlN) films containing a high concentration of Scandium with controllable feature profile angle and smooth surface is needed for next-generation Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) RF filter applications. This paper reports the facile etching of ScAlN with Scandium concentration of up to 15% using Reactive Ion Beam Etching (RIBE) with a very smooth surface of less than 5 nm average roughness and profile angle between 60 to 80 degrees. Recent studies show that doping AlN with a high concentration of Sc increases the piezoelectric response by five times and the bandwidth of RF filters also improved. However, etching ScAlN with a high concentration of Sc using traditional RIE and ICP based methods are extremely difficult and often results in low etch rate and rough surface. We have developed RIBE processes using a mixture of Reactive Gas and Ar with highly controllable profile angle from 60 to 80 degrees, improved etch rate (∼ 36nm/min) and selectivity to photoresist mask (0.7:1), in comparison to conventional IBE. This work has positive implications in fabricating ScAlN based BAW RF filters for next-generation mobile and wireless applications.