Spurious-Free Shear Horizontal Wave Resonators Based on 36Y-Cut LiNbO₃ Thin Film

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Physics

Background:

• Lithium niobate (LiNbO3) is a key material for piezoelectric resonators.
• Radio frequency (RF) applications demand high-performance resonator devices.
• Existing resonator designs face limitations in spurious modes and efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, analyze, and fabricate a spurious-free shear horizontal zero (SH0) resonator using lithium niobate.
• To optimize the resonator structure for enhanced radio frequency (RF) performance.
• To investigate the piezoelectric properties of 36Y-cut LiNbO3 thin films for resonator applications.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a suspended structure for the lithium niobate (LiNbO3) based SH0 resonators.
• Employing a 36Y-cut LiNbO3 thin film for resonator fabrication.
• Characterizing the electromechanical coupling coefficient (kt2) and quality factor (Qr) at a specific wave-propagating orientation.

Main Results:

• Achieved a spurious-free SH0 resonator.
• Obtained a high electromechanical coupling coefficient (kt2) of 42.67%.
• Measured a quality factor (Qr) of 254 at the 0° wave-propagating orientation in the 36Y-cut plane.

Conclusions:

• The developed suspended lithium niobate (LiNbO3) SH0 resonator is suitable for advanced radio frequency (RF) applications.
• The 36Y-cut LiNbO3 thin film demonstrates excellent piezoelectric properties for resonator fabrication.
• The achieved performance metrics indicate a promising direction for next-generation RF filters and devices.