Contour-Mode Aluminum Nitride Vibrating RF Microsystems

Contour-mode aluminum nitride vibrating micromechanical resonators are presented as a new class of RF microsystems capable of low-loss filtering and frequency synthesis for next generation wireless devices. Contour-mode piezoelectric resonators can span frequencies from 10 MHz up to few GHz on the same silicon chip offering high quality factors in air (1,000-4,000) and low motional resistance (25-500 Omega). Low loss electrically and mechanically coupled filters can be easily implemented using this resonator technology. A microsystems approach that takes advantage of massively arraying micromechanical vibrating resonators is presented as a solution for next generation cognitive radios based on low power transceivers that use frequency hopping, multi-band filtering and direct frequency synthesis.