Strongly Electromechanical Coupled Phononic Waveguides in Aluminum Scandium Nitride on Silicon Carbide

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Deng, Yuanchen, Anderson, Dalton, Du, Xingyu, Roberts, Will, Miller, Michael, Smith, Brandon, Hackett, Lisa, Olsson, Troy, Eichenfield, Matt
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Deng, Yuanchen
Anderson, Dalton
Du, Xingyu
Roberts, Will
Miller, Michael
Smith, Brandon
Hackett, Lisa
Olsson, Troy
Eichenfield, Matt
author_facet Deng, Yuanchen
Anderson, Dalton
Du, Xingyu
Roberts, Will
Miller, Michael
Smith, Brandon
Hackett, Lisa
Olsson, Troy
Eichenfield, Matt
contents Guided phonons have become an increasingly important platform for classical and quantum information processing. While conventional surface acoustic wave systems are typically only guided in the vertical direction, two-dimensionally confined waveguide systems offer significant advantages in terms of density of phononic circuit components and much higher intensities of strain and piezoelectric fields, which make them promising candidates for advancing acoustoelectric and quantum phononic applications. One such material system for generating and guiding phonons at gigahertz frequencies is AlScN on SiC, which can be synthesized by sputter depositing AlScN directly onto SiC wafers. The AlScN on SiC platform allows for tightly vertically confined acoustic modes with high electromechanical coupling, high speed of sound, and simple fabrication of strip and rib waveguides. Until now, this system has only been studied as a slab waveguide platform, i.e., without any lateral waveguiding. Here, we present a 2D-confined phononic waveguide architecture in AlScN on SiC with strongly electromechanically coupled modes that could serve as a platform for phononic routing, power-efficient active and nonlinear phononic devices such as amplifiers, mixers, and oscillators, as well as for interacting with quantum systems such as vacancy centers, charge carriers, photons, and spins. We study two distinct gigahertz frequency waveguide mode families using impedance matched interdigital transducers and characterize their electromechanical coupling and propagation losses. Additionally, we analyze how these waveguides could interact with various important quantum and classical systems that can be either embedded in SiC or heterogeneously integrated on the surface.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_18113
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Strongly Electromechanical Coupled Phononic Waveguides in Aluminum Scandium Nitride on Silicon Carbide
Deng, Yuanchen
Anderson, Dalton
Du, Xingyu
Roberts, Will
Miller, Michael
Smith, Brandon
Hackett, Lisa
Olsson, Troy
Eichenfield, Matt
Quantum Physics
Guided phonons have become an increasingly important platform for classical and quantum information processing. While conventional surface acoustic wave systems are typically only guided in the vertical direction, two-dimensionally confined waveguide systems offer significant advantages in terms of density of phononic circuit components and much higher intensities of strain and piezoelectric fields, which make them promising candidates for advancing acoustoelectric and quantum phononic applications. One such material system for generating and guiding phonons at gigahertz frequencies is AlScN on SiC, which can be synthesized by sputter depositing AlScN directly onto SiC wafers. The AlScN on SiC platform allows for tightly vertically confined acoustic modes with high electromechanical coupling, high speed of sound, and simple fabrication of strip and rib waveguides. Until now, this system has only been studied as a slab waveguide platform, i.e., without any lateral waveguiding. Here, we present a 2D-confined phononic waveguide architecture in AlScN on SiC with strongly electromechanically coupled modes that could serve as a platform for phononic routing, power-efficient active and nonlinear phononic devices such as amplifiers, mixers, and oscillators, as well as for interacting with quantum systems such as vacancy centers, charge carriers, photons, and spins. We study two distinct gigahertz frequency waveguide mode families using impedance matched interdigital transducers and characterize their electromechanical coupling and propagation losses. Additionally, we analyze how these waveguides could interact with various important quantum and classical systems that can be either embedded in SiC or heterogeneously integrated on the surface.
title Strongly Electromechanical Coupled Phononic Waveguides in Aluminum Scandium Nitride on Silicon Carbide
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.18113