Octave-Tunable Magnetostatic Wave YIG Resonators on a Chip

We have designed, fabricated, and characterized magnetostatic wave (MSW) resonators on a chip. The resonators are fabricated by patterning single-crystal yttrium iron garnet (YIG) film on a gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) substrate and excited by loop-inductor transducers. We achieved this technology breakthrough by developing a YIG film etching process and fabricating thick aluminum coplanar waveguide (CPW) inductor loop around each resonator to individually address and excite MSWs. At 4.77 GHz, the 0.68-mm
²
resonator achieves a quality factor (
${Q}{)} > {5000}$
with a bias field of 987 Oe. We also demonstrate YIG resonator tuning by more than one octave from 3.63 to 7.63 GHz by applying an in-plane external magnetic field. The measured quality factor of the resonator is consistently over 3000 above 4 GHz. The micromachining technology enables the fabrication of multiple single- and two-port YIG resonators on the same chip with all resonators demonstrating octave tunability and high
${Q}$
.