A Review of the Recent Applications of Aluminum Nitride-based Piezoelectric Devices

Piezoelectric materials have attracted considerable attention over the last two decades because many technologies utilize their core properties of piezoelectric materials. Previous applications consisted of bulk structures; however, a shift towards better performance and a more simplified and compatible fabrication method are required. Aluminum nitride (AlN) is a material that fits these criteria; it has a non-centrosymmetric crystal structure with a polarized c-axis and exhibits piezoelectric properties. Furthermore, it has an added benefit as the fabrication process of AIN is compatible with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology. This has led to a rapid increase in the adoption and interest in AlN-based devices. In this review, the crystal structure of AlN and its piezoelectric properties are compared with those of aluminum scandium nitride. Subsequently, functional devices such as consumer-based devices, telecommunication-based devices, industrial-related applications, and medical applications are presented. Finally, a summary and discussion of the future AlN research are presented.