US-20260129963-A1 - TUNABLE RESONATOR

US20260129963A1US 20260129963 A1US20260129963 A1US 20260129963A1US-20260129963-A1

Abstract

A resonator device includes a substrate with a first number of fins extending over the substrate. The fins extend along the substrate in a first direction. A second number of conductive fingers are provided over the fins, which extend in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The first number is less than or equal to the second number. The conductive fingers are configured to receive an input signal such that the conductive fingers resonate at an output frequency. The conductive fingers define a finger pitch therebetween, and the output frequency is based on the finger pitch.

Inventors

Jun-De JIN

Assignees

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20260105

Claims (20)

1 . A device, comprising: a substrate; a first number of fins over the substrate, the first number of fins extending along the substrate in a first direction; a plurality of dielectric structures situated in respective gaps formed between the first number of fins, the plurality of dielectric structures being formed over S/D regions of the first number of fins; and a second number of conductive fingers over the first number of fins, the second number of conductive fingers extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the second number of conductive fingers configured to receive an input signal such that the second number of conductive fingers resonate at an output frequency, wherein the second number of conductive fingers are spaced apart from one another based on a predetermined finger pitch.
2 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising: a dummy conductive finger extending in the second direction that is not configured to receive the input signal; and a sense transistor having a gate connected to the dummy conductive finger.
3 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the sense transistor comprises: a sense fin extending along the substrate in the first direction, the sense fin including a source node and a drain node and a channel between the source node and the drain node; and a conductive gate strip over the sense fin extending in the second direction.
4 . The device of claim 3 , wherein the dummy conductive finger forms the conductive gate strip on the sense fin.
5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of dielectric structures includes multilayers made of multiple dielectric materials.
6 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the second number of conductive fingers each include a conductive gate strip and a plurality of metal layers over and electrically connected to the conductive gate strip.
7 . A device, comprising: a drive region, including: a plurality of fins extending parallel to one another in a first direction, wherein the plurality of fins are spaced apart from one another in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; a plurality of conductive drive fingers over the plurality of fins, the plurality of conductive drive fingers extending in the second direction and connected to receive a periodic input signal; and a dummy finger that is not connected to receive the periodic input signal.
8 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of conductive drive fingers each include a conductive gate strip and a plurality of metal layers over and electrically connected to the conductive gate strip.
9 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of conductive drive fingers are spaced apart based on a predetermined finger pitch therebetween.
10 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of conductive drive fingers is greater than the plurality of fins.
11 . The device of claim 7 , further comprising: first and second sense transistors, the first and second sense transistors including a fin extending in the first direction and having respective first and second source/drain nodes of the first and second sense transistors; and first and second dummy fingers including the dummy finger, the first and second dummy fingers forming respective first and second gate terminals of the first and second sense transistors.
12 . The device of claim 11 , wherein the first and second dummy fingers are adjacent one another.
13 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of fins do not have source/drain epitaxial thereon.
14 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of conductive drive fingers are configured to receive an RF drive signal, and wherein a gate of a sense transistor is configured to provide an output signal from the dummy finger based on the RF drive signal.
15 . The device of claim 7 , wherein the drive region includes a first group of the plurality of fins spaced apart from one another based on a first predetermined finger pitch, and a second group of the plurality of fins spaced apart from one another based on a second predetermined finger pitch different from the first predetermined finger pitch.
16 . A method, comprising: providing a plurality of semiconductor fins extending in first direction over a substrate; providing a plurality of conductive drive fingers extending in a second direction over the plurality of semiconductor fins; applying an input signal to the plurality of conductive drive fingers; providing a dummy finger extending in the second direction over the plurality of semiconductor fins; and applying a second input signal to a sensing transistor from the dummy finger.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein providing the plurality of conductive drive fingers includes spacing apart the plurality of conductive drive fingers in the second direction based on a predetermined finger pitch.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the predetermined finger pitch is based on a desired output frequency of a sense current.
19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of semiconductor fins is less than or equal to the plurality of conductive drive fingers.
20 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the input signal is applied from a voltage input terminal.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/586,471, filed Jan. 27, 2022, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/227,194, filed Jul. 29, 2021, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety herein. BACKGROUND Electronic circuits typically include a clock circuit. Such clock circuits may provide one or more timing signals to the electronic circuit. The clock circuit is generally implemented via an integrated circuit and in certain examples may utilize complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Clock circuits generally include an oscillator and a resonator. An oscillator may include an electric circuit that produces a periodically varying output at a controlled frequency. Filters may be implemented in circuits that selectively pass certain elements of a signal while eliminating other elements of the signal. A resonator may include circuitry that exhibits resonant behavior (i.e., naturally oscillates at resonant frequencies with greater amplitude than at other non-resonant frequencies). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is noted that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion. In addition, the drawings are illustrative as examples of embodiments of the invention and are not intended to be limiting. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of portions of a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of portions of a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of additional portions of a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of fabricating a resonator in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of fins of a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of fins and conductive fingers of a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 8 is a schematic section view taken along line Y2 of FIG. 4 in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 9 is a schematic section view taken along line X2 of FIG. 4 in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 10 is a schematic section view taken along line Y1 of FIG. 4 in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 11 is a schematic section view taken along line X1 of FIG. 4 in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example resonator circuit in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram illustrating another example resonator circuit in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a conductive finger arrangement of a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of a conductive finger arrangement of a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of a conductive finger arrangement of a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 17 is a schematic section view illustrating metal layers of a conductive finger arrangement of a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 18 is a schematic section view illustrating further aspects of metal layers of a conductive finger arrangement for a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 19 is a schematic section view illustrating further aspects of metal layers of a conductive finger arrangement for a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 20 is a schematic section view illustrating further aspects of metal layers of a conductive finger arrangement for a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 21 is a schematic section view illustrating varying finger pitch of a conductive finger arrangement for a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 22 is a schematic section view illustrating further varying finger pitch of a conductive finger arrangement for a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram illustrating a multiple resonator cell arrangement for a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating another multiple resonator cell arrangement for a resonator device in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram illustrating anot