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High-performance macromodel of the quarter-wavelength solidly mounted

resonator

Conference Paper · April 2015

DOI: 10.1109/ELNANO.2015.7146938

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 High-Performance Macromodel of the Quarter-
Wavelength Solidly Mounted Resonator
Andrii Zazerin, Anatolii Orlov
Department of Microelectronics
National Technical University of Ukraine “KPI”
Kyiv, Ukraine
exeterza@gmail.com, atorlov@rambler.ru
Abstract—This article discusses the recently developed
performance-oriented macromodel of the solidly mounted
resonator and its advantages manifested in high-order
piezoelectric filter design. The proposed model allows the
straightforward integration of the thin film resonator’s electrical
behavior into the most of modern CAD systems as a part of
complex RF circuit solutions and enables the precise evaluation
of the output characteristics in a relatively wide near-resonant
frequency range. It is shown further that an important feature of
the model is its homogeneous multiloop structure which opens
the possibility of fine complexity adjustment in order to obtain
either high accuracy results or high performance during
calculation. In addition, the model takes into account the
influence of the most significant electro-acoustic effects related to
the electrode mass loading and quarter-wavelength stack
reflectance. Validation was performed on the example of PCS
CDMA 3½-stage ladder filter design and showed more than 15-
fold improvement in calculation time in multi-objective
optimization case.
Keywords—BAW resonator; FBAR; SMR; high-order filter;
Bragg reflector; optimization efficiency.
I. INTRODUCTION
In recent years the progress in the field of bulk acoustic
wave (BAW) piezoelectric resonators has led to the possibility
of manufacturing of frequency selective systems with features
which enable their efficient exploitation in the frequency range
up to 10 GHz. High Q-factor and electromechanical coupling
coefficient of these BAW resonators led to the great frequency
selectivity in terms of the cutoff rate and out-of-band rejection
ratio. Filters based on BAW resonators stand good due to their
low transmission loss (lower than 0,5 dB in comparison with
SAW filters), moderate energy consumption (tens of
microwatts) [1] and can be integrated with active elements on a
single chip which makes them very promising option applied to
mobile communication devices.
At the same time the calculation of the frequency-loss
characteristics of the filter based on BAW resonators represents
a complicated engineering challenge. The developed for today
and commonly used solutions in the field of BAW resonators
simulation include a variety of one-dimensional (BVD, Mason
and its modifications Redwood and KLM) and three-
dimensional physical models. The simplest Butterworth-Van-
Oleksandr Bogdan
Research Institute of Applied Electronics
National Technical University of Ukraine “KPI”
Kyiv, Ukraine
bogdan@ee.ntu-kpi.kiev.ua
Dyke (BVD) model of resonator provides the electrical
characteristics simulation of the device in a narrow near-
resonant frequency range, however it does not account a
variety of intrinsic real device effects. For instance the finite
thickness of the electrodes leads to an eigenfrequency shift; the
nonideal acoustic isolation and corresponding acoustic energy
leakage reduce the effective bandwidth and Q-factor.
On the other hand, three-dimensional models which engage
the finite element (FEM) calculation method allow estimating
the characteristics of resonator with high precision taking into
account even the edge reflection effects and arbitrary electrode
geometry. A significant disadvantage of three-dimensional
models is their calculation time and complexity of integration
into modern RF circuit design software. Thus, in [2] the
calculation of three-dimensional resonator with a circular step-
like top electrode took more than 4 hours in COMSOL
Multiphysics. In addition to above the output data suitable for
application in CAD are typically standardized Touchstone files
containing the frequency response of the device for a specific
structural modification of the device. The features mentioned
above seriously complicate the analysis of complex filters
consisting of a large number of resonators and in fact eliminate
the possibility of design parameters optimization.
The Mason model composition concept is a compromise
solution which provides the accounting of main effects of real
devices. Due to its consistency and sequential structure the
model is often used to simulate the multilayered structures such
as film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) or trending solidly
mounted resonators (SMR) with Bragg reflector as acoustic
energy isolation method. However, as a distributed parameters
model based on electrical transmission lines it requires the
appropriate software simulation framework which was realized
not in all CAD systems. After that the modelling of complex
electronic circuits based on multilayered structures may be
inefficient in many cases because of inexpediency of
accounting for multipath acoustic wave propagation and
rereflection in Bragg mirror structure.
The proposed macromodel can be applied for simulation of
FBAR and SMR devices and is based on the significantly
simplified structure. As will be shown further, such an
approach can greatly increase the efficiency of calculation and
optimization of complex filters based on piezoelectric
resonators.
 II. MACROMODEL STRUCTURE 4 jZ a
 Z eq   2 jZ a tan( )  2Z a coth( j )  
To ensure the proper operation of bulk acoustic wave sin(2 )
resonator the propagation of longitudinal waves should be
enclosed by the volume of piezoelectric material. In other The expression (1) can be expanded in a series for the
words the acoustic energy must be concentrated locally without hyperbolic tangent function and schematically represented as
leakage into other device parts. The acoustic energy an infinite number of parallel combinations of capacitors and
localization can be performed by introducing the inductors connected in series:
discontinuities into the acoustic wave propagation path, so that
the latter is reflected. The most effective discontinuity is the
Z a Da 2 Da
air–solid material interface which is implemented FBAR  Ln   Cn   
design. Another approach is to create a periodic Bragg reflector 2Va (2k  1)2  2 Z 0Va
used in SMR-type devices. Unlike the FBAR structure, SMR
resonators have the advantage of less sensitivity to reciprocal where Za, Da and Va are characteristic impedance, thickness
layers tension. Moreover, the production process of SMR and acoustic wave velocity in piezoelectric layer, respectively.
requires less technological steps and photolithography patterns. In addition, the value of the mechanical quality factor can
For one thing, the access window for sacrificial layer opening be taken into account in the model by introducing the
excluded as well as its removal. Another important effect of additional resistance in series network that is described by the
reflective layers in SMR as shown in [3] is a partial increasing next expression:
of transverse stiffness of the piezoelectric layer which
minimizes displacement caused by transverse waves and as
consequence reduces the effect of parasitic resonances Ln 1  (2k  1) Z0
commonly observed in non-loaded layers of FBAR.  Rn    
Cn Qm 2Qk
The arbitrary SMR structure is shown in Figure 1. Actually
the resonator is represented by piezoelectric layer material where Qk is the Q-factor of the resonator at each
sandwiched between two electrodes. Acoustic isolation is corresponding resonant frequency.
implemented as the interface air-solid above the top electrode
and Bragg reflector stack under the bottom electrode which B. Electrode Layers
also acts supporting structure and heat sink. In a real device the piezoelectric material layer is enclosed
between two metal electrodes placed on the top and bottom
faces of the resonator. Such a loading of the piezoelectric layer
leads to several mechanical and electrical effects known as
mass-loading effects. These effects are responsible for the
resonance frequency shift and reduction of effective frequency
bandwidth of the resonator and hence should be taken into
account in the equivalent model.
The acoustic impedance of the metal electrode can be
considered in the same way as piezoelectric layer [6] and
schematically represented as an inductor and an infinite
number of parallel combinations of capacitors and inductors
Fig. 1. The structure of SMR with Bragg reflector layers connected in series:
A bunch of structure optimization algorithms developed
and are used during the design of high effective acoustic Z e Del Z e Del 2 Del
reflector. The simplest and commonly used approach to model  Lm0   Lm   Cm   
Vel 8Vel Z el 2 2Vel
the longitudinal wave Bragg reflector is the selection of
thickness of each layer which corresponds the quarter acoustic where Ze, De and Ve are characteristic impedance, thickness
wavelength. Such an approach provides the maximum and acoustic wave velocity in layer, respectively.
reflectance and acoustic isolation at the central frequency of
reflector. The calculation of Bragg mirror's reflection
efficiency and operational bandwidth based on electrical C. Bragg Reflector Stack
transmission lines analogy [4]. The output frequency response of the Bragg reflector can
be represented as combination of the real and imaginary parts
A. Piezoelectric Layer of the acoustic impedance. The total impedance has resonant
frequency behavior with the minimum point of acoustic
As was shown in previous work [5], the T-shaped Mason impedance at the center frequency f0, which corresponds to
section of the piezoelectric layer can be simplified by maximum reflection. The proposed model is based on the
equivalent circuit design transformations such as L-network assumption of the small change in the derivative of the
replacement technique [6] and slight assumptions in the near- imaginary part of the reflector’s acoustic impedance near the
resonant frequency range. After that one can obtain the resonant frequency. In particular this part is responsible for the
simplified equivalent impedance of the piezoelectric layer:
resonance frequency shift in the SMR. When considering the
frequency dependence of imaginary part for different number
of layers it becomes clear that the frequency behavior of
obtained functions are very similar for n>3 and have almost
linear nature. Submitted circumstances allow one to
approximate the acoustic impedance of the Bragg reflector
schematically in the form of RLC circuit which has a linear
dependence of the imaginary component of the impedance near
the resonant frequency f0 that can be defined easily by
interrelated parameters. The detailed description of this
procedure is given in [7]. It appeared to be that the values of L
and C parameters depend on the characteristic impedances of
the comprising layers (high impedance Z0, low impedance Z1)
and the resonance frequency f0 which implicitly takes into
account the thickness of the layers.
1  Z1 ( Z 02 Z s2  Z14 )( Z 02  Z 0 Z1  Z12 ) 
 Lb   
8 f0  Z 04 Z s2  resonators. All shunt resonators were shifted down by the
2  Z1 ( Z 02 Z s2  Z14 )( Z 02  Z 0 Z1  Z12 ) 
 Cb   
 f0 
2
Z 04 Z s2  depends on the capacity ratio of the series and shunt resonators
At the same time the function of real component of
reflector’s acoustic impedance has very complicated frequency
dependence and describes the energy loss in the resonator.
However, in the narrow near-resonance frequency band this
function is almost linear that allows one to approximate it as
frequency independent resistance R. This element of the model
is described by the next expression which depends on the
characteristic impedance of the reflector layers as well as their
quantity n, and substrate impedance Zs:
Z1n 1
 Rb  
Z0n 1Zs
The periodic nature of the acoustic impedance function of
the Bragg reflector can be modelled by additional RLC circuits
connected in parallel. This feature allows one to carry out the
broadband frequency analysis of the device. The complete
macromodel depicted in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. Complete equivalent circuit of SMR macromodel including multiloop
networks of active layer, electrodes and Bragg reflector.
III. MODEL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
The computation efficiency of the proposed macromodel
can be demonstrated in the best way by multi-iteration
algorithms such as filter optimization process. Thin film
piezoelectric devices like FBAR or SMR are often used in
microwave communication systems laying down stringent
requirements. One of such systems is PCS CDMA working at
1900 MHz. It is FDD system, so diplexers are used for the
isolation of TX and RX signals. The corresponding frequency
bands are 1850–1910 MHz and 1930–1990 MHz, so the
passband must change to the stopband in the range of only 20
MHz. CDMA specifications also include the limits of group
delay ripple and voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR). In order
to satisfy these requirements the multi-objective optimization
was performed as discussed later.
The ladder filter was chosen (Fig. 3) as an implementing
structure consisting of 3 series and 4 shunt SMR-type
 
detuning frequency fdetune with initial value of 80% of the
passband width. It is commonly known that the far stopbands
1 are dominated by purely capacitive voltage division in each of
  the stages. The attenuation that can be reached with one stage
[8]. Hence large area of the shunt resonators will improve out-
of-band rejection ratio. However, there is certain upper and
lower limit for the capacitive ratio which is defined by the
impedance matching reasons and, consequently, by VSWR.
Fig. 3. Topology of 3½-stage ladder filter.

The simulated resonator structure comprised the SMR with
thin AlN piezoelectric film sandwiched between two Al
electrodes, 0.2 um each. The acoustic energy isolation was
provided by 5-layer quarter-wavelength Bragg reflector stack.
Tungsten and SiO2 were used as high acoustic impedance and
low acoustic impedance materials, respectively. The specific
optimization process conditions were defined according to the
foregoing requirements: optimization variables including their
initial values and optimization goals. The initial values
comprised areas of series and shunt resonators (150 µm2 and
170 µm2); series and shunt resonator thicknesses (2.66 µm and
2.725 µm). Optimization goals were divided into 3 objectives.
The first one described the S21 limits: the bandwidth was 60
MHz (1850-1910 MHz) with insertion loss (IL) lower than 3.5
dB; the attenuation of the TX is larger than 35 dB in the RX
band (Fig. 4). The second objective included the average group
delay ripple (GDR) limit of 200 ns. And the last optimization
goal was the upper limit of VSWR which was set to 3 for
benchmark purposes. Mason transmission line model was
chosen as a reference point. The reason for that is because it
represents more general approach which is often used to
simulate multilayered structures. Optimization goals were set
from single-objective to multi-objective separately to ensure
the gradual increase in calculation complexity. The calculations
were also carried out for several macromodel modifications
which included a different number of multiloop circuits.
that the number of optimization iterations for reference model
and macromodel is comparable in single-objective case. While
in multi-objective calculation Mason model required 2 times
more optimization steps. Since the employed in simulation
macromodel modifications may differ greatly in terms of
expected accuracy, it makes sense to compare the obtained
values as results of the optimization process (Table I). As
follows from the presented data the resulting filter parameters
are pretty close for different model modifications and fall
almost within the technological tolerance in actual device
production.

TABLE I. OPTIMIZED SMR FILTER PARAMETERS

Opt. Model modifications being compared

param. Mason RLC_5 RLC_6 RLC_7 RLC_9
2
S1, µm 150 150 150 150 150

d1, µm 2.65164 2.65805 2.65935 2.65915 2.65914

Fig. 4. Optimization process in Agilent ADS. Insertion loss frequency
dependence and optimization goals are under consideration. S2, µm 2
249.025 231.793 237.762 238.287 238.987

All simulations were performed in Agilent Advanced
Design System using minimax optimization algorithm. In each
case the total time spent on optimization process was
normalized to Mason model and showed in Fig. 5. The
presented results showed that in case of insertion loss
optimization macromodel provided the calculation rate
improvement from 1.17 to 3.78 times. Expectedly the best
results corresponded to model with 5 multiloop circuits.
d2, µm 2.73387 2.73568 2.73539 2.73485 2.73409
IV. CONCLUSIONS
The performance-oriented macromodel of quarter-
wavelength SMR was presented which can be used in
modelling of thin film piezoelectric resonators and complex
devices such as resonator-based filters. The model takes into
account the influence of the most significant electro-acoustic
effects related to the electrode mass loading and quarter-
wavelength stack reflectance. Thanks to its homogeneous
structure model can be adjusted to obtain either high accuracy
results or high performance during calculation. Validation of
the model was performed on the example of PCS CDMA filter
and showed significant advantage in terms of calculation time
and optimization convergence, especially in cases of hard
multi-objective optimization functions.

REFERENCES

[1] A. Nelson, J. Hu, J. Kaitila, R. Ruby, and B. Otis, “A 22µW, 2.0GHz

Fig. 5. Macromodel performance comparison in terms of normalized total
optimization time. Reference Mason model performance was taken as 100%.
After setting the two optimization objectives (insertion loss
and group delay ripple) simultaneously the performance
advantage of all macromodel modifications became more
obvious. Thus, 5-circuit model gave the 7.2 times decrease in
total optimization time.
The hardest case was the multi-objective optimization that
included the two previous objectives and VSWR limits. The
reference Mason model optimization took around 12 minutes
and 49 s, while simplest 5-circuit macromodel took only 50 s
which is more that 15-fold improvement in calculation time.
Such a notable superiority of the macromodel can be explained
by significantly simplified structure which provides better
convergence during calculation procedure. It is worthy of note
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