Unfolding the Effects of Cobalt-60 Irradiation on Contour-Mode Piezoelectric Resonators

Among piezoelectric materials, AlN garners particular attention due to its advantageous fabrication properties and seamless integration with the CMOS manufacturing process. Given the potential deployment of these devices in space and nuclear systems, a thorough examination of their performance within radiation environments becomes imperative. The correlation between radiation dose and device behavior, in conjunction with device resiliency, offers engineers a valuable resource during the design process. In our study, we developed multiple MEMS resonator designs based on AlN, subjected them to gamma irradiation of 1 Mrad(Si) from a Cobalt-60 source, and concurrently measured S-parameters in situ. The empirical data obtained was aligned with a theoretical model to articulate the change in frequency as a consequence of radiation-induced displacement damage.