The burgeoning field of wireless communication is rapidly transforming to respond to an ever-growing demand for spectrum and interconnected devices. Simple need for bandwidth combined with extremely low power consumption and component size requirements are challenging existing communication technologies and favoring the development of innovative microsystems. Microscale acoustic systems are poised to have an impact in enabling disruptive approaches that address the challenges faced by the development of modern communication systems.
This talk will present recent advancements in piezoelectric microacoustic devices spanning from material and processing, to devices and microsystems. I will touch upon thin film technologies such as doped AlN and lithium niobate, which resulted in micromechanical resonators with record-high figure of merit. I will specifically show how the exceptional characteristics of these devices can be exploited to demonstrate unique microsystems for 5G mm-wave filtering. Given the wide energy bandgap and unique low losses of these piezoelectric thin film technologies, the same materials can also be micromachined to support not only acoustic, but also photonic structures. I will present how piezoelectric transducers can be co-fabricated with photonic waveguides and resonators to develop innovative low-power microsystems for RF and microwave communications. I will conclude by highlighting how these microacoustic technologies will continue to impact the next generation of communication systems.
Biography
Gianluca Piazza is the ST Microelectronics Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and the Director of the CMU Nanofabrication Facility. Prior to joining CMU he was the Wilf Family Term Assistant Professor in the department of Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests focus on piezoelectric micro and nano electromechanicalsystems (M/NEMS) for RF wireless communication, acousto-optics, chemical/biological detection, ultrasonics, and mechanically-assisted computing. He also has a general interest in the areas of micro/nano fabrication techniques and integration of micro/nano devices with state-of-the-art electronics. He has more than 15 years of experience working with piezoelectric materials and devices. He holds several patents in the field of micromechanical resonators some of which have been acquired by industry. He received the IBM Young Faculty Award in 2006 and has won, with his students, the Best Paper Award at the IEEE Frequency Control Symposium in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013, at the IEEE International Microwave Symposium in 2022, and at the IEEE Ultrasonic Symposium in 2012 and 2023. He serves as Editor-in-Chief for the IEEE Journal of MicroElectroMechanical Systems (JMEMS).
