Wideband frequency and in situ characterization of aluminum nitride (AlN) in a metal/insulator/metal (MIM) configuration

This paper deals with the electrical wideband frequency and in situ characterization of aluminum nitride (AlN) material. This material is interesting for bulk acoustic wave (BAW) or surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. In a first step, low frequency characterizations allow to know current versus voltage characteristics, leakages and temperature dependence of the electrical properties. Then, AlN properties in an integrated “metal/insulator/metal” configuration are characterized using MIM waveguide and RLCG parameters are measured up to 20 GHz. An electrical field breakdown of 7.5 MV cm−1 and a relative permittivity between 9 and 10 are extracted. Acoustic resonances, validated with Mason one-dimensional simulation, occur near 5 and 12 GHz. Finally, the MIM devices performances are determined in a wideband frequency: from 1 MHz to 10 GHz.