Research
Title : | Design and fabrication of an RF oscillator based on piezoelectric MEMS resonator |
Area of Research : | Engineering Sciences |
Principal Investigator : | Prof. Deleep R Nair, Indian Institute Of Technology (IIT) Madras, Tamil Nadu |
Co-PI: | Dr. Amitava Dasgupta, Indian Institute Of Technology (IIT) Madras, Tamil Nadu-600036, Dr. Nagendra Krishnapura, Indian Institute Of Technology (IIT) Madras, Tamil Nadu-600036, Dr. Abhijit Sarkar, Indian Institute Of Technology (IIT) Madras, Tamil Nadu-600036 |
Contact info : | deleep@ee.iitm.ac.in |
Timeline Start Year : | 2024 |
Timeline End Year : | 2027 |
Total Budget (INR): | 57,88,638 |
Details
Executive Summary : | Quartz crystals, used in timing and frequency control applications in electronic systems for over 100 years, are not compatible with Si/CMOS process technology, preventing monolithic integration and causing a bottleneck in board space. A proposal is to design and fabricate RF oscillators by replacing quartz crystal with other CMOS compatible piezoelectric materials like AlN and ScAlN. A piezo stack (Mo/ AlN or ScAlN /Mo) will be deposited on SOI wafers using either RF sputtering at IIT Madras or fabrication from abroad. The resonator's microstructure will be fabricated at the nanofabrication facility (CNNP) at IIT Madras, and characterized for RF performance metrics like resonant frequency and insertion loss. An amplifier will be designed at IITM and fabricated at an external CMOS foundry. The resonator die will be bonded with the amplifier die to check for oscillating action. This proposal builds on years of experience in making MEMS resonators and aims to advance understanding by using new piezoelectric materials like ScAlN, using high Q structures, and designing better mechanical structures. |
Organizations involved
Implementing Agency : | Indian Institute Of Technology (IIT) Madras, Tamil Nadu Funding Agency :Anusandhan National Rsearch Foundation (ANRF)/Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) | Source:Anusandhan National Research Foundation/Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), DST 2023-24 | |