Phonon-Electron Interactions in Piezoelectric Semiconductor Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonators

This work presents the first comprehensive investigation of phonon-electron interactions in bulk acoustic standing wave (BAW) resonators made from piezoelectric semiconductor (PS) materials. We show that these interactions constitute a significant energy loss mechanism and can set practical loss limits lower than anharmonic phonon scattering limits or thermoelastic damping limits. Secondly, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that phonon-electron interactions, under appropriate conditions, can result in a significant acoustic gain manifested as an improved quality factor (Q). Measurements on GaN resonators are consistent with the presented interaction model and demonstrate up to 35% dynamic improvement in Q. The strong dependencies of electron-mediated acoustic loss/gain on resonance frequency and material properties are investigated. Piezoelectric semiconductors are an extremely important class of electromechanical materials, and this work provides crucial insights for material choice, material properties, and device design to achieve low-loss PS-BAW resonators along with the unprecedented ability to dynamically tune resonator Q.