Lithography-free, apodized thickness-shear LiNbO3 resonators for piezoelectric DC-DC power conversion

Abstract

Piezoelectric resonators have emerged as promising energy-storage elements for compact high-frequency DC-DC power converters. Still, practical implementation requires simultaneously high k_t^2 (electromechanical coupling), Q (high quality factor) and low resistance/impedance fluctuations. Spurious Lamb-wave and lateral modes are particularly problematic because they reduce the usable inductive frequency span and complicate converter operation over variable loads. Here we report a lithography-free, apodized 163° Y-cut lithium niobate thickness-shear resonator with reduced electrically visible spurious responses while preserving the intrinsically large coupling of the thickness-shear mode. Finite-element simulations show that a square plate excites numerous lateral spurious modes near the principal shear resonance. In contrast, a curved asymmetric plate outline redistributes the lateral acoustic boundary conditions and reduces electrically visible spurious responses. Experiments on multiple resonator outlines, interconnection schemes, and device areas are performed to characterize the device responses. The representative 560 mm^2 device exhibits a series resonance near 3.67 MHz, an effective electromechanical coupling coefficient of 53.57%, a series quality factor of 1146, and a series resonance figure of merit of 614. A representative device fitted with a modified Butterworth-van Dyke equivalent circuit model shows excellent agreement between measurement and model, with a maximum Bode quality factor of 2896. These results support lateral-boundary apodization as a practical approach to high-coupling lithium niobate resonators with reduced electrically visible spurious responses for piezoelectric power converters.