Switchable filters and design structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9935600-B2
Application number	US-201514940815-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 13, 2015
Priority date	Jan 3, 2012
Publication date	Apr 3, 2018
Grant date	Apr 3, 2018

Abstract

Switchable and/or tunable filters, methods of manufacture and design structures are disclosed herein. The method of forming the filters includes forming at least one piezoelectric filter structure comprising a plurality of electrodes formed on a piezoelectric substrate. The method further includes forming a micro-electro-mechanical structure (MEMS) comprising a MEMS beam formed above the piezoelectric substrate and at a location in which, upon actuation, the MEMS beam shorts the piezoelectric filter structure by contacting at least one of the plurality of electrodes.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A method comprising:
forming at least one filter comprising a plurality of electrodes on a piezoelectric substrate; and
forming a beam structure positioned over the least one filter and structured to short the least one filter structure, upon actuation.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the beam structure is a MEMS cantilever beam, positioned perpendicular to the plurality of electrodes and, structure, upon activation, to contact the plurality of electrodes.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the beam structure is positioned over a ground electrode and a signal electrode of a Vin IDT.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the beam structure is positioned over ground electrodes of a Vin IDT and a Vout IDT of the at least one filter.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the beam structure is a MEMS beam formed above the piezoelectric substrate and at a location in which, upon actuation, the MEMS beam shorts the piezoelectric filter by contacting at least one of the plurality of electrodes.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one filter is a piezoelectric structure.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the piezoelectric structure is a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein forming the SAW filter comprises:
forming a Vin interdigital transducer (IDT) comprising interleaved signal and ground electrodes on a surface of the piezoelectric substrate; and
forming a Vout IDT comprising interleaved signal and ground electrodes on the surface of the piezoelectric substrate.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the beam structure is a MEMS beam which is positioned to short the interleaved signal and ground electrodes of the Vin IDT or Vout IDT, upon actuation.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the filter structure is a bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filter.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the beam structure is a composite MEMS beam structure of metal and insulator material over the plurality of electrodes.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein beam structure is a cantilever MEMS beam, positioned between actuators and perpendicular to interleaved electrodes of the at least one filter.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Adkisson James W
• Candra Panglijen
• Dunbar Thomas J
• Gambino Jeffrey P
• Jaffe Mark D
• Stamper Anthony K
• Wolf Randy L

Classifications

• H03H9/1092

  the enclosure being defined by a cover cap mounted on an element forming part of the surface acoustic wave [SAW] device on the side of the IDT's · CPC title

• H03H3/08

  for the manufacture of resonators or networks using surface acoustic waves · CPC title

• H03H9/0547 Primary

  consisting of a vertical arrangement (H03H9/0566 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H03H9/6403

  Programmable filters · CPC title

• B81B7/008

  MEMS characterised by an electronic circuit specially adapted for controlling or driving the same (B81B7/0087 takes precedence; arrangements for starting, regulating, braking, or otherwise controlling an actuator H02N; control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators G09G3/00) · CPC title