Circuital Model for the Analysis of the Piezoelectric Response of AlN Films Using SAW Filters

In this paper we describe a method to assess the piezoelectric response of a piezoelectric thin film deposited on a conductive substrate. It is based on analyzing the frequency response of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter made on the piezoelectric thin film. For this analysis, we use a circuital model that takes into account the theoretical response of the ideal filter along with all the external and internal parasitic effects that deteriorate the response. Using this model, we can obtain the electromechanical coupling factor of the piezoelectric material (k² _m) with good accuracy. If parasitic effects are not considered, k² _m can be underestimated by a factor of up to 20. We have tested our model using SAW filters made on AlN thin films sputtered on substrates with different conductivities. A discussion on the relation between the different circuital elements and the physical properties of the filters also is provided.