Bulk wave membrane quartz resonators fabricated by a hollow cathode RF plasma etching technique

A hollow cathode maskless plasma etching method for fabrication of thin quartz membranes is presented. A special geometric arrangement of electrodes and substrates allows the complete plasma structure (plasma sheath, bulk plasma) to be transferred to the substrate area during the etching process. The process has successfully been used in preparing thin quartz membranes with plane-convex and plane-parallel shape, and thicknesses of less than 5 mum. Vibration modes in these thin quartz membranes are calculated using the method of equivalent resonant radius. The membranes are used for realization of bulk acoustic wave resonators at fundamental frequencies above 60 MHz. Good agreement between theoretical and experimental characteristics is achieved.