Intrinsically tunable bulk acoustic wave resonators based on sol-gel grown PMN-PT films

Abstract

Intrinsically tunable bulk acoustic wave resonators, based on sol-gel 0.70Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.30PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) thin films, with high effective electromechanical coupling coefficient of 13% and tunability of the series resonance frequency up to 4.0% are fabricated and characterized. The enhanced electroacoustic properties of the PMN-PT resonators are attributed to the mechanism of polarization rotation occurring in the region of the morphotropic phase boundary. Electroacoustic performance of the PMN-PT resonators is analyzed using the theory of dc field-induced piezoelectric effect in ferroelectrics. Extrinsic acoustic loss in the PMN-PT resonators is analyzed using the model of the wave scattering at reflections from rough interfaces. Mechanical Q-factor of the resonators is up to 70 at 4.1 GHz and limited mainly by losses in the PMN-PT film. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.