Project overview
Bulk and Surface Acoustic Wave resonant devices are key components in the radio-frequency multiplexers that populate 1-to-5G radios. These components leverage the excitation of acoustic waves, in piezoelectric plates, to attain on-chip resonant devices with superior quality factors (Qs), when compared to on-chip tanks using lumped inductors and capacitors. So, when properly combined, these resonant devices permit to form the on-chip filters that currently populate the passive stages of billions of wireless commercial systems across the globe. As we move fast towards wireless platforms able to exchange massive volumes of information to accommodate the growing needs of emerging applications, it is necessary to find new resonant acoustic technologies that can surpass the performance limits of the available counterparts. To do so, in MicronRF, we engineer piezoelectric acoustic devices with unique dispersion features. In particular, we look for enabling technologies exhibiting improved excitation efficiency and a larger immunity to the sources of acoustic dissipation that affect the performance of available RF micro-acoustic piezoelectric devices.
