Millimeter-Wave Compact and Low-Loss Acoustic X-Ka Band Filters Using Piezoelectric Thin Films

As space applications move toward operating at millimeter wave X-KA bands, developing front end components to meet these high frequency requirements is crucial. Acoustic devices are known for their small footprint, size and power consumption, making them the ideal solution to NASA's increasing need for higher frequency operation. These devices leverage acoustic waves, which have 4-5 magnitudes smaller wavelengths, meaning they can be made much smaller and lighter leading to their dominance in the cellular industry. Until recently, acoustic devices were limited to sub 6 GHz operation due to fabrication difficulties creating dimensions around 200 nm, but thin film transfer techniques have broken these barriers, allowing acoustic devices to access those high frequencies required by NASA. Unfortunately, due to the recency of these new techniques, these devices still face lower quality factor, and thus lower performance at high frequencies. The goal of this research is to improve upon current application-worthy acoustic resonators in three key ways. First, study challenges and fabrication challenges for building high Q resonators with thinners films. Second, design resonators based on tradeoffs between electromagnetic and acoustic losses. Third, develop filter synthesis methods to overcome and leverage the EM effects in the interconnects between resonators. With these steps, the proposed research will be able to create X-Ka band filters capable of meeting the communication needs of space-bound devices.

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