Design and Fabrication of High-Frequency Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer Based on an AlN Thin Film

Abstract

A piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device that can transmit and receive ultrasonic waves. Given its advantages of high-frequency ultrasound with good directionality and high resolution, PMUT can be used in application scenarios with low power supply, such as fingerprint recognition, nondestructive testing, and medical diagnosis. Here, a PMUT based on an aluminum nitride thin-film material is designed and fabricated. First, the eigenfrequencies of the PMUT are studied with multiphysics coupling simulation software, and the relationship between eigenfrequencies and vibration layer parameters is determined. The transmission performance of the PMUT is obtained via simulation. The PMUT device is fabricated in accordance with the designed simple MEMS processing process. The topography of the PMUT vibration layer is determined via scanning electron microscopy, and the resonant frequency of the PMUT device is 7.43 MHz. The electromechanical coupling coefficient is 2.21% via an LCR tester.