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Now showing 1 - 10 of 10
Publication Novel Electrode Configurations in Dual-Layer Stacked and Switchable AlN Contour-Mode Resonators for Low Impedance Filter Termination and Reduced Insertion Loss(2010-01-01) Zuo, Chengjie; Sinha, Nipun; Piazza, GianlucaThis paper reports, for the first time, on the design and demonstration of two novel electrode configurations in dual-layer stacked Aluminum Nitride (AlN) piezoelectric contour-mode resonators to obtain low filter termination resistance (down to 300 Ω, which also results in better filter out-of-band rejection) and reduced insertion loss (IL as low as 1.6 dB) in multi-frequency (100 MHz – 1 GHz) AlN MEMS filters. The microfabrication process is fully compatible with the previously demonstrated AlN RF MEMS switches, which makes it possible to design and integrate multi-frequency switchable filter banks on a single chip.Publication Hybrid Ultra-Compact 4th Order Band-Pass Filters Based On Piezoelectric AlN Contour-Mode MEMS Resonators(2008-06-01) Zuo, Chengjie; Sinha, Nipun; Perez, Carlos R.; Mahameed, Rashed; Pisani, Marcelo B.; Piazza, GianlucaThis work reports on the design, fabrication and testing of a new class of hybrid (filter design using combined electrical and mechanical coupling techniques) ultra-compact (800×120 μm) 4th order band-pass filters based on piezoelectric Aluminum Nitride (AlN) contour-mode microelectromechanical (MEM) resonators. The demonstrated 110 MHz filter shows a low insertion loss of 5.2 dB in air, a high out-of-band rejection of 65 dB, a fractional bandwidth as high as 1.14% (hard to obtain when only conventional electrical coupling is used in the AlN contour-mode technology), and unprecedented 30 dB and 50 dB shape factors of 1.93 and 2.36, respectively. All these are achieved in an extremely small footprint and by using just half the space that any other 4th order filter would have taken. In terms of nonlinearities, the 110 MHz filter shows a 1 dB compression point higher than +63 dBmV and input third order intercept point (IIP3) values well beyond +153 dBmV. This new hybrid design represents a net improvement over the state of the art and constitutes a very promising solution for intermediate frequency (IF) filtering in many wireless communication systems.Publication 100 NM Thick Aluminum Nitrade Based Piezoelectric Nano Switches Exhibiting 1 MV Threshold Voltage via Body-Biasing(2010-06-06) Sinha, Nipun; Guo, Zhijun; Piazza, Gianluca; Felmetsger, Valery V.This paper reports on the first demonstration of aluminum nitride (AIN) piezoelectric logic switches that were fabricated with ultra-thin (100nm) AIN films and exhibit a 1 mV threshold voltage via the body-biasing scheme. The application of a relatively low (< 6 V) fixed potential to the body terminal of a 4-terminal switch has been cycled to > 109 cycles and, although the contact resistance was found to be high (~ 1 MΩ), the nano-films have functioned throughout to show high piezoelectric nano-film reliability.Publication Ultra Thin AlN Piezoelectric Nano-Actuators(2009-06-01) Sinha, Nipun; Wabiszewski, Graham E; Carpick, Robert W; Mahameed, Rashed; Piazza, Gianluca; Felmetsger, Valery V; Tanner, Shawn MThis paper reports the first implementation of ultra thin (100 nm) Aluminum Nitride (AlN) piezoelectric layers for the fabrication of vertically deflecting nano-actuators. An average piezoelectric coefficient (d31~ 1.9 pC/N) that is comparable to its microscale counterpart has been demonstrated in nanoscale thin AlN films. Vertical deflections as large as 40 nm have been obtained in 18 μm long and 350 nm thick cantilever beams under bimorph actuation with 2 V. Furthermore, in-plane stress and stress gradients have been simultaneously controlled. Leakage current lower than 2 nA/cm2 at 1 V has been recorded and an average relative dielectric constant of approximately 9.2 (as in thicker films) has been measured. These material characteristics and preliminary actuation results make the AlN nano-films ideal candidates for the realization of nanoelectromechanical switches for low power logic applications.Publication Dual Beam Actuation of Piezoelectric AlN RF MEMS Switches Integrated with AlN Contour-mode Resonators(2008-06-02) Sinha, Nipun; Mahameed, Rashed; Zuo, Chengjie; Piazza, Gianluca; Pisani, Marcelo B.; Perez, Carlos R.This work reports on piezoelectric Aluminum Nitride (AlN) based dual-beam RF MEMS switches that have been monolithically integrated with AlN contour-mode resonators. The dual-beam switch design presented in this paper intrinsically compensates for the residual stress in the deposited films, requires low actuation voltage (5-20 V), facilitates active pull-off to open the switch and fast switching times (1 to 2 µsec). This work also presents the combined response (cascaded S-parameters) of a resonator and a switch that were co-fabricated on the same substrate. The response shows that the resonator can be effectively turned on and off by the switch. A post-CMOS compatible process was used for fabrication of both the switches and the resonators. The single-chip RF solution presented herein constitutes an unprecedented step forward towards the realization of compact, low loss and integrated multi-frequency RF front-ends.Publication Piezoelectric aluminum nitride nanoelectromechanical actuators(2009-08-03) Sinha, Nipun; Wabiszewski, Graham E; Carpick, Robert W; Mahameed, Rashed; piazza, Gianluca; Felmetsger, Valery V; Tanner, Shawn MThis letter reports the implementation of ultrathin (100 nm) aluminum nitride (AlN) piezoelectric layers for the fabrication of vertically deflecting nanoactuators. The films exhibit an average piezoelectric coefficient (d31~−1.9 pC/N), which is comparable to its microscale counterpart. This allows vertical deflections as large as 40 nm from 18 µm long and 350 nm thick multilayer cantilever bimorph beams with 2 V actuation. Furthermore, in-plane stress and stress gradients have been simultaneously controlled. The films exhibit leakage currents lower than 2 nA/cm2 at 1 V, and have an average relative dielectric constant of approximately 9.2 (as in thicker films). These material characteristics and actuation results make the AlN nanofilms ideal candidates for the realization of nanoelectromechanical switches for low power logic applications.Publication Integration of AlN Micromechanical Contour-Mode Technology Filters with Three-Finger Dual Beam AlN MEMS Switches(2009-04-01) Sinha, Nipun; Zuo, Chengjie; Piazza, Gianluca; Mahameed, RashedIn this paper, we present the first demonstration of the monolithic integration of Aluminum Nitride (AlN) micromechanical contour mode technology filters with dual-beam actuated MEMS AlN switches. This integration has lead to the development of the first prototype of a fully-integrated all-mechanical switchable filter. Integration has been demonstrated by using AlN contour-mode MEMS filters at two center frequencies, i.e. 98.7 and 279.9 MHz. The micromechanical switch design used here is a novel three-finger dual-beam topology that improves the isolation and insertion loss of the switch by decreasing the parasitic coupling between the DC and RF signals over a previous AlN MEMS dual-beam design. With the use of just one switch fabricated right next to, and integrated with the filter, the AlN MEMS filter is effectively turned off and its pass-band transmission is lowered to the out of band level at 279.9 MHz.Publication Body-Biased Complementary Logic Implemented Using AIN Piezoelectric MEMS Switches(2009-01-01) Sinha, Nipun; Jones, Timothy S.; Guo, Zhijun; Piazza, GianlucaThis paper reports on the first implementation of low voltage complementary logic (< 1.5 V) by using body-biased aluminum nitride (AlN) piezoelectric MEMS switches. For the first time, by using opposite body biases the same mechanical switch has been made to operate as both an ntype and p-type (complementary) device. Body-biasing also gives the ability to precisely tune the threshold voltage of a switch. The AlN MEMS switches have shown extremely small subthreshold slopes and threshold voltages as low as 0.8 mV/dec and 30 mV, respectively. Furthermore, this work presents a fully mechanical body-biased inverter formed by two AlN MEMS switches operating at 100 Hz with a ± 1.5 V voltage swing.Publication Multi-Frequency Pierce Oscillators Based On Piezoelectric AlN Contour-Mode MEMS Resonators(2008-09-01) Zuo, Chengjie; Sinha, Nipun; Van der Spiegel, Jan; Piazza, GianlucaThis paper reports on the first demonstration of multi-frequency (176, 222, 307, and 482 MHz) oscillators based on piezoelectric AlN contour-mode MEMS resonators. All the oscillators show phase noise values between –88 and –68 dBc/Hz at 1 kHz offset and phase noise floors as low as –160 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset. The same Pierce circuit design is employed to sustain oscillations at the 4 different frequencies, while the oscillator core consumes at most 10 mW. The AlN resonators are currently wirebonded to the integrated circuit realized in the AMIS 0.5 μm 5 V CMOS process. This work constitutes a substantial step forward towards the demonstration of a single-chip multi-frequency reconfigurable timing solution that could be used in wireless communications and sensing applications.Publication Demonstration of Low Voltage and Functionally Complete Logic Operations Using Body-Biased Complementary and Ultra-Thin ALN Piezoelectric Mechanical Switches(2010-01-01) Sinha, Nipun; Jones, Timothy; Guo, Zhijun; Piazza, GianlucaThis paper reports, for the first time, on the demonstration of low voltage and functionally complete logic elements (NAND and NOR) implemented by using body-biased complementary and ultra-thin (250 nm thick) Aluminum Nitride (AlN) based piezoelectric mechanical switches. This work presents, firstly, the importance of scaling AlN films for the demonstration of ultra-thin AlN switches and, secondly, the implementation of a new actuation scheme based on body biasing to lower the switch threshold voltage. Four of these ultra-thin switches were connected together to synthesize functionally complete MEMS logic gates (NAND and NOR) with a ± 2V swing and a body-bias voltage < 8 V.