11 GHz Lateral-Field-Excited Aluminum Nitride Cross-Sectional Lamé Mode Resonator

This paper reports the first experimental demonstration of a Lateral-Field-Excited (LFE) Aluminum Nitride (AlN) Cross-Sectional Lamé Mode Resonator (CLMR) operating at 11 GHz. First, the device is modeled via Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Next, optimized design is realized via a simple 2-mask fabrication process. Fabricated LFE AlN CLMR demonstrates a loaded quality factor ($Q_{l}$) of 615 and an electromechanical coupling coefficient ($k_{t}^{2}$) of 1.3%, resulting in an exceptionally high Figure-of-Merit ($\text{FoM}=k_{t}^{2}\cdot Q_{l}$) of 8. In addition, the capability to litographycally define the center frequency without significantly degrading its $k_{t}^{2}$ makes LFE ALN CLMRs one of the best candidates for the realization of low-cost yet high-performance filters scaled to operate in the X-band.