Design and Modeling of Ferroelectric BST FBARs for Switchable RF Bulk Acoustic Wave Filters.

Multi-standard smartphones have become ubiquitous in everyday life. Such systems operate under different communication standards (2G, 3G, 4G-LTE, WLAN, GPS, Bluetooth, etc.) at different frequencies. Compact and high-performance filters are indispensable for RF front-ends in mobile phones, and RF bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters, based on piezoelectric film bulk acoustic resonators (FBARs), have become prevalent. Moreover, due to the upcoming Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G, the demand for new technologies that can be employed to design switchable/tunable filters has increased. This dissertation presents one of the new promising technologies, known as intrinsically-switchable BAW filters employing newly-investigated electrostrictive effect in BST thin films. Successful implementation of switchable filters would eliminate/minimize external switches in the design of filter banks, thus leading to significant reduction in their size, cost, and complexity. Contributions of this work are categorized into three major parts. First, the nonlinear circuit modeling procedure for BST FBARs is presented. The nonlinear circuit model, essential for the material characterization and device characterization including linearity analysis, is developed based on the physics of electrostriction-based intrinsically switchable FBARs. Modeling results are in close agreement with dc-bias-voltage and RF-power-level dependent measurement results for BST FBARs. Second, the design methods for BST-on-Si composite FBARs are presented. The designed composite FBAR shows a record Q of 970 at 2.5 GHz among switchable BST resonators. Temperature-dependent characteristics of BST-on-Si composite FBAR devices are also presented with the measured TCF of -35 ppm/K. Furthermore, a raised-frame technique, which has been used to eliminate lateral-wave spurious-modes in piezoelectric BAW resonators, is first employed for switchable ferroelectric FBARs, demonstrating the effectiveness of the frame technique. Finally, the design method for intrinsically switchable BST FBAR filters is presented. The filter design method for ladder-type BAW filters is developed based on image parameters. Closed-form equations are derived for the first time enabling one to accurately design BAW filters. A systematically-designed pi-type BST FBAR filter is fabricated and measured, exhibiting a 1.22% bandwidth at 1.97 GHz with an isolation of greater than 22 dB, having a very small device size of 0.021 mm2.PhDElectrical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133215/1/seungku_1.pd

Tunable ferroelectric thin film devices for microwave applications

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Challenges and Opportunities for Multi-functional Oxide Thin Films for Voltage Tunable Radio Frequency/Microwave Components

There has been significant progress on the fundamental science and technological applications of complex oxides and multiferroics. Among complex oxide thin films, barium strontium titanate (BST) has become the material of choice for room-temperature-based voltage-tunable dielectric thin films, due to its large dielectric tunability and low microwave loss at room temperature. BST thin film varactor technology based reconfigurable radio frequency (RF)/microwave components have been demonstrated with the potential to lower the size, weight, and power needs of a future generation of communication and radar systems. Low-power multiferroic devices have also been recently demonstrated. Strong magneto-electric coupling has also been demonstrated in different multiferroic heterostructures, which show giant voltage control of the ferromagnetic resonance frequency of more than two octaves. This manuscript reviews recent advances in the processing, and application development for the complex oxides and multiferroics, with the focus on voltage tunable RF/microwave components. The over-arching goal of this review is to provide a synopsis of the current state-of the-art of complex oxide and multiferroic thin film materials and devices, identify technical issues and technical challenges that need to be overcome for successful insertion of the technology for both military and commercial applications, and provide mitigation strategies to address these technical challenges

Barium strontium titanate thin films for tunable microwave applications

There has been unprecedented growth in wireless technologies in recent years; wireless devices such as cellular telephones and wireless local area network (WLAN) transceivers are becoming ubiquitous. It is now common for a single hardware device, such as a cellular telephone, to be capable of multi-band operation. Implementing a dedicated radio frequency (RF) front-end for each frequency band increases the component count and therefore the cost of the device. Consequently, there is now a requirement to design RF and microwave circuits that can be reconfigured to operate at different frequency bands, as opposed to switching between several fixed-frequency circuits. Barium strontium titanate (BST) thin films show great promise for application in reconfigurable microwave circuits. The material has a high dielectric constant which can be controlled by the application of a quasi-static electric field, combined with relatively low losses at microwave frequencies. Tunable microwave components based on BST-thin films have the potential to replace several fixed components, thereby achieving useful size and cost reductions. This thesis is concerned with the growth and microwave circuit applications of BST thin films on c- and r-plane sapphire substrates. Sapphire is an ideal substrate for microwave integrated circuit fabrication due to its low cost and low loss. Electronically tunable capacitors (varactors) were fabricated by patterning interdigital electrode structures on top of the BST films. High capacitance tunabilities of 56% and 64% were achieved for the films grown on c-plane and r-plane sapphire, respectively, at 40 V bias. A novel electronically tunable 3 dB quadrature hybrid circuit was also developed. Prototypes of this circuit were initially implemented using commercial varactor diodes, in order to validate the design. An integrated version of the coupler was then fabricated using BST varactors on c-plane sapphire. The results achieved demonstrate the potential of sapphire-based BST thin films in practical microwave circuits

Integration of sol-gel frequency agile materials for tunable RF devices

This thesis focuses on the use of high permittivity tunable dielectrics and more specifically sol-gel ferroelectric thin films for low cost, high performance tunable devices such as varactors and filters at RF and microwave frequencies. The top- ics covered include measurement techniques for the characterization of tunable dielectrics at low and microwave frequencies, fabrication processes, electrical and acoustic modeling of thin film ferroelectric varactors, performance optimization using conductive electrodes, realization of tunable microwave circuits and inte- gration of tunable dielectrics with conventional bulk acoustic wave resonators (FBAR). A lead strontium titanate (PST) sol-gel ferroelectric varactor is designed, elec- trically and acoustically modeled and fabricated, displaying dielectric tunability of "'-'75%. A two port automatic extraction technique using MATLAB allowing the de-embedding of parasitic connecting transmission lines, as well as parasitic pads has been developed and presented, yielding accurate dielectric permittivity values in good agreement with literature. The potential factors that may compro- mise the electrical performance of the ferroelectric tunable varactor are analyzed and a novel Au/Ti02 bottom electrode stack process is proposed and shown to improve the RF performance of the tunable varactor lowering the overall metaliza- tion resistance and improving performance, compared to the commonly used Pt electrodes. To establish the possibility of tunable microwave systems integrating sol-gel ferroelectric tunable varactors the following novel microwave devices are designed, modeled and fabricated: A ferroelectric varactor-based RF resonant switch, integrating a thin film sol- gel PST ferroelectric varactor with a high Q micro-machined inductor is fabri- cated. An insertion loss of ",1.5 dB and isolation of ",18 dB have been achieved for a single 7 GHz resonant switch with a device area of 0.6 mm x 1 mm. The intrinsic performance limitations of this type of device due to the ferroelectric thin film are discussed and the implementation of cascaded switches and state-of-the- art ferroelectric materials for further improvement of performance of this device, have been considered and simulated. Tunable band-stop resonators and notch filters using sol-gel PST ferroelectric varactors in a coplanar waveguide (CPW) defected ground structure are fabricated and measured. The PST varactors tune single resonators and 3-pole band-stop filters, operating at the center frequency of 4 and 8 GHz, having a maximum rejection of more than 13.8 dB at the stop band, while the insertion loss at the pass band is less than 3 dB. Full-wave analysis is performed to identify the critical points, where PST varactors are implemented to adjust the resonance frequency of the devices. An optimized fabrication process allows for fabrication of a 3-stage filter with a maximum rejection of 28 dB, albeit with a reduced tuning range, possibly due to DC bias path leakage. Finally, a fabrication approach where a ferroelectric varactor is integrated with a conventional zinc oxide (ZnO) acoustic wave resonator is presented. The approach avoids the piezoelectric thin film degradation due to the ferroelectric annealing by first fabricating the ferroelectric varactor and superimposing the conventional FBAR on top of it. The tuning of the series resonant frequency of a conventional ZnO FBAR with a ferroelectric varactor is demonstrated. Field induced deformation limits the maximum shift of the resonance to 0.45% at 1.5 GHz, for 41% tunability of the ferroelectric varactor, suggesting a big scope for possible improvements in performance by improving the design and fabrication. VIII.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Switchable and Tunable Ferroelectric Devices for Adaptive and Reconfigurable RF Circuits.

As wireless communication systems have become more prevalent, their role has broadened from simply a means of connecting individuals to one another to a means of connecting individuals to the vast information and social network of the Internet. The resulting exponential increase in the utilization of wireless communication systems, the fundamental limitation of the finite wireless spectrum, and the use of conventional wireless communication systems that are designed to operate at fixed predetermined carrier frequencies pose a significant challenge. One method to address this problem is to use adaptive and reconfigurable wireless communication systems that can change their frequency and mode of operation. Unfortunately, currently available RF and microwave circuit components cannot meet the frequency agility specifications, performance requirements, and cost constraints necessary for the widespread commercialization of such systems. This thesis explores how the multifunctional properties of ferroelectrics such as barium strontium titanate (BST) can be used to design switchable and tunable RF circuits for use in adaptive and reconfigurable wireless communication systems. In particular, the electric field dependent permittivity, electrostriction, and electric field induced piezoelectricity of BST are utilized for the design of electroacoustic resonators and filters. The main contribution of this thesis is the demonstration of several different intrinsically switchable, tunable, and reconfigurable resonator and filter designs. First, BST film bulk acoustic wave resonators (FBARs), which exhibit electric resonances that are controlled by an applied dc bias voltage, are designed, fabricated, and characterized. In addition, reconfigurable dual-frequency resonators that utilize intrinsically switchable and tunable BST FBARs are demonstrated for the first time. Second, intrinsically switchable and tunable ferroelectric FBAR filters with insertion losses as low as 4.1 dB at 1.6 GHz are presented. Furthermore, dual-band BST FBAR filters that exhibit two different pass band responses in the low GHz range are demonstrated for the first time. Third, intrinsically switchable and tunable lateral (contour) mode resonators with frequencies as high as 1.67 GHz are demonstrated for the first time. Last of all, an RF magnetron sputtering system dedicated to BST thin film deposition is designed, assembled, and configured for continuing the improvements in ferroelectric thin film performance.PHDElectrical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107304/1/viclee_1.pd

Impedance matching and DC-DC converter designs for tunable radio frequency based mobile telecommunication systems

Tunability and adaptability for radio frequency (RF) front-ends are highly desirable because they not only enhance functionality and performance but also reduce the circuit size and cost. This thesis presents a number of novel design strategies in DC-DC converters, impedance networks and adaptive algorithms for tunable and adaptable RF based mobile telecommunication systems. Specifically, the studies are divided into three major directions: (a) high voltage switch controller based DC-DC converters for RF switch actuation; (b) impedance network designs for impedance transformation of RF switches; and (c) adaptive algorithms for determining the required impedance states at the RF switches. In the first stage, two-phase step-up switched-capacitor (SC) DC-DC converters are explored. The SC converter has a simple control method and a reduced physical volume. The research investigations started with the linear and the non-linear voltage gain topologies. The non-linear voltage gain topology provides a higher voltage gain in a smaller number of stages compared to the linear voltage gain topology. Amongst the non-linear voltage gain topologies, a Fibonacci SC converter has been identified as having lower losses and a higher conversion ratio compared to other topologies. However, the implementation of a high voltage (HV) gain Fibonacci SC converter is complex due to the requirement of widely different gate voltages for the transistors in the Fibonacci converter. Gate driving strategies have been proposed that only require a few auxiliary transistors in order to provide the required boosted voltages for switching the transistors on and off. This technique reduces the design complexity and increases the reliability of the HV Fibonacci SC converter. For the linear voltage gain topology, a high performance complementary-metaloxide- semiconductor (CMOS) based SC DC-DC converter has been proposed in this work. The HV SC DC-DC converter has been designed in low voltage (LV) transistors technology in order to achieve higher voltage gain. Adaptive biasing circuits have been proposed to eliminate the leakage current, hence avoiding latch-up which normally occurs with low voltage transistors when they are used in a high voltage design. Thus, the SC DC-DC converter achieves more than 25% higher boosted voltage compared to converters that use HV transistors. The proposed design provides a 40% power reduction through the charge recycling circuit that reduces the effect of non-ideality in integrated HV capacitors. Moreover, the SC DC-DC converter achieves a 45% smaller area than the conventional converter through optimising the design parameters. In the second stage, the impedance network designs for transforming the impedance of RF switches to the maximum achievable impedance tuning region are investigated. The maximum achievable tuning region is bounded by the fundamental properties of the selected impedance network topology and by the tunable values of the RF switches that are variable over a limited range. A novel design technique has been proposed in order to achieve the maximum impedance tuning region, through identifying the optimum electrical distance between the RF switches at the impedance network. By varying the electrical distance between the RF switches, high impedance tuning regions are achieved across multi frequency standards. This technique reduces the cost and the insertion loss of an impedance network as the required number of RF switches is reduced. The prototype demonstrates high impedance coverages at LTE (700MHz), GSM (900MHz) and GPS (1575MHz). Integration of a tunable impedance network with an antenna for frequency-agility at the RF front-end has also been discussed in this work. The integrated system enlarges the bandwidth of a patch antenna by four times the original bandwidth and also improves the antenna return loss. The prototype achieves frequency-agility from 700MHz to 3GHz. This work demonstrates that a single transceiver with multi frequency standards can be realised by using a tunable impedance network. In the final stage, improvement to an adaptive algorithm for determining the impedance states at the RF switches has been proposed. The work has resulted in one more novel design techniques which reduce the search time in the algorithm, thus minimising the risk of data loss during the impedance tuning process. The approach reduces the search time by more than an order of magnitude by exploiting the relationships among the mass spring’s coefficient values derived from the impedance network parameters, thereby significantly reducing the convergence time of the algorithm. The algorithm with the proposed technique converges in less than half of the computational time compared to the conventional approach, hence significantly improving the search time of the algorithm. The design strategies proposed in this work contribute towards the realisation of tunable and adaptable RF based mobile telecommunication systems

Fully Integrated High-Performance MEMS Lumped Element Filters for Reconfigurable Radios.

In this research, we present RF MEMS filters which address the most challenging performance requirements of modern RF front-end systems, namely multi-band processing capability, low energy consumption, and small size. These filters not only provide a wide tuning range for multiple-band selection, but also offer low loss, high power handling capability, fast tuning speed, and temperature stability. Two different technologies are considered for tunable lumped element filter targeting UHF range. The first technology is a tunable RF MEMS platform based on surface micromachining, enabling fabrication of continuously tuned capacitors, capacitive and ohmic switches, as well as high-Q inductors, all on a single chip. The filter is in a third-order coupled resonator configuration. Continuous electrostatic tuning is achieved using three tunable capacitor banks each consisting of one continuously tunable capacitor and three switched capacitors with pull-in voltage of less than 40V. The center frequency of the filter is tuned from 1GHz to 600MHz while maintaining a 3dB-bandwidth of 13 to 14% and insertion loss of 2%. The filter occupies a small size (1.5 cm x 1.0 cm). This filter shows the best published performance yet in terms of insertion loss, out-of-band rejection, temperature stability, and tuning range. The second technology is based on a new tuning mechanism utilizing phase-change (PC) materials. PC technology has been investigated and adopted in memory industry due to its fast transition time in nano second range, small size, and high resistance change ratio. Although PC materials offer several benefits, they have not been considered for RF applications because of their limited power handling capability and relatively higher on-resistance in their current form. In this work, germanium tellurium (GeTe) is considered as it offers a low on-resistivity and pronounced resistance change ratio of up to 106. To characterize RF properties of GeTe, different types of RF switches have been fabricated and compared. Such PC switches can be monolithically integrated with other micromachined components to implement reconfigurable front-end modules, potentially offering high tuning speed, low loss, high linearity, and small size.PHDElectrical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98038/1/yhshim_1.pd

Development of tunable and miniature microwave filters for modern wireless communications

Due to the increasing demand for new wireless services and applications, the high level of integration and the coexistence of multi-standard (MS) or multi-band operations into a single device are becoming defining trends in designing microwave filters. This has driven considerable technological advances in reconfigurable/tunable and miniaturized filters. More specifically, reconfigurable/tunable filters that tune to different frequency bands instead of classical filter banks have great potential to significantly reduce the system size and complexity; while reducing the filter size becomes essential to achieve the highest degree of integration density in compact and portable wireless devices. In the light of this scenario, the objective of this dissertation is to develop the new design technologies, concepts and filtering configurations for tunable microstrip filters and compact passive microwave filters. To this aim, this dissertation is divided into two main parts. The first part (Part I) focuses on the designs of novel varactor-tuned microstrip filters with advanced performances. In this aspect, new topologies for realizing tunable lowpass and highpass filters are firstly developed. State-of-the-art performances, including wide tuning range, high selectivity with multiple transmission zeros, low insertion loss and compact size for all the tuning states are obtained in both of these filters. Secondly, two novel classes of tunable bandpass filters are presented. One of them is designed based on varactor-loaded parallel-coupled microstrip lines (PCML) and short-circuited stubs, which allows the lower passband edge together with two transmission zeros located around the lower passband skirt to be reconfigured separately. While the other tunable bandpass filter is constructed by the combination of tunable bandpass and lowpass filters, featuring both centre frequency and bandwidth tunabilities, as well as high selectivity with abundant transmission zeros. Furthermore, a new concept of tunable lossy filter is demonstrated, which attempts to achieve an equivalent high-Q tunable performance by using low-Q resonators. This concept makes the presented tunable combline filter interesting for some frequency-agile applications in which the low in-band loss variation and high selectivity are much desired while the absolute insertion loss can be a tradeoff. The second part (Part II) is devoted to the design of miniaturized passive microwave filters with improved characteristics. For this, the concept of artificial right-handed and left-handed transmission lines are applied to the signal interference filtering topology, which results in a compact circuit size and good out-of-band performance. In particular, for a further size reduction, such filter is implemented in the forms of multilayered structure by using liquid crystal polymer (LCP) technology. Additionally, another two types of miniaturized bandpass filters using stepped impedance resonators are demonstrated, which are implemented based on different fabrication processes (i.e. LCP bonded multilayer PCB technology and a standard planar PCB technology). Among their main features, the compact size, wide passband, broad stopband with multiple transmission zeros and circuit simplicity are highlighted. For all the proposed design techniques and filtering structures, exhaustive theoretical analyses are done, and design equations and guide rules are provided. Furthermore, all the proposed schemes and/or ideas have been experimentally validated through the design, implementation and measurement of different filters. The fabrication processes of multilayer technology utilized: liquid crystal polymer (LCP) technology and liquid crystal polymer (LCP) bonded multilayer printed circuit board (PCB) technology, are also demonstrated for reference. All of the results achieved in this dissertation make the proposed filters very attractive for their use in modern wireless communication systems

Development of turnable and miniature microwave filters for modern wireless communication

Due to the increasing demand for new wireless services and applications, the high level of integration and the coexistence of multi-standard (MS) or multi-band operations into a single device are becoming defining trends in designing microwave filters. This has driven considerable technological advances in reconfigurable/tunable and miniaturized filters. More specifically, reconfigurable/tunable filters that tune to different frequency bands instead of classical filter banks have great potential to significantly reduce the system size and complexity; while reducing the filter size becomes essential to achieve the highest degree of integration density in compact and portable wireless devices. In the light of this scenario, the objective of this dissertation is to develop the new design technologies, concepts and filtering configurations for tunable microstrip filters and compact passive microwave filters. To this aim, this dissertation is divided into two main parts. The first part (Part I) focuses on the designs of novel varactor-tuned microstrip filters with advanced performances. In this aspect, new topologies for realizing tunable lowpass and highpass filters are firstly developed. State-of-the-art performances, including wide tuning range, high selectivity with multiple transmission zeros, low insertion loss and compact size for all the tuning states are obtained in both of these filters. Secondly, two novel classes of tunable bandpass filters are presented. One of them is designed based on varactor-loaded parallel-coupled microstrip lines (PCML) and short-circuited stubs, which allows the lower passband edge together with two transmission zeros located around the lower passband skirt to be reconfigured separately. While the other tunable bandpass filter is iii constructed by the combination of tunable bandpass and lowpass filters, featuring both centre frequency and bandwidth tunabilities, as well as high selectivity with abundant transmission zeros. Furthermore, a new concept of tunable lossy filter is demonstrated, which attempts to achieve an equivalent high-Q tunable performance by using low-Q resonators. This concept makes the presented tunable combline filter interesting for some frequency-agile applications in which the low in-band loss variation and high selectivity are much desired while the absolute insertion loss can be a tradeoff. The second part (Part II) is devoted to the design of miniaturized passive microwave filters with improved characteristics. For this, the concept of artificial right-handed and left-handed transmission lines are applied to the signal interference filtering topology, which results in a compact circuit size and good out-of-band performance. In particular, for a further size reduction, such filter is implemented in the forms of multilayered structure by using liquid crystal polymer (LCP) technology. Additionally, another two types of miniaturized bandpass filters using stepped impedance resonators are demonstrated, which are implemented based on different fabrication processes (i.e. LCP bonded multilayer PCB technology and a standard planar PCB technology). Among their main features, the compact size, wide passband, broad stopband with multiple transmission zeros and circuit simplicity are highlighted. For all the proposed design techniques and filtering structures, exhaustive theoretical analyses are done, and design equations and guide rules are provided. Furthermore, all the proposed schemes and/or ideas have been experimentally validated through the design, implementation and measurement of different filters. The fabrication processes of multilayer technology utilized: liquid crystal polymer (LCP) technology and liquid crystal polymer (LCP) bonded multilayer printed circuit board (PCB) technology, are also demonstrated for reference. All of the results achieved in this dissertation make the proposed filters very attractive for their use in modern wireless communication systems.MultiWaves Project (PIRSES-GA-2010-247532) of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), European Commission