Tuesday, 21 October 2025 at Noon | 490 Cory Hall
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Professor Ruochen Lu
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering | University of Texas at Austin
Host: Zihan Wang, BSAC Seminar Committee
ABSTRACT
This talk highlights recent advances in piezoelectric acoustic devices for applications in millimeter-wave (mmWave) signal processing, ultrasound transducers, power resonators, sensors, and emerging technologies. We begin by introducing transferred thin-film lithium niobate (LN) and sputtered scandium aluminum nitride (ScAlN) as platforms for mmWave acoustic resonators and filters, demonstrating record-high electromechanical coupling and quality factors at frequencies up to 60 GHz. We then discuss the development of LN-based piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducers (PMUTs) tailored for operation in high-temperature and harsh environments. Additionally, we highlight bulk LN-based power resonators designed as efficient replacements for traditional inductors in RF power applications. Lastly, we present recent progress in acoustic comb generation for multimode sensing. The talk concludes with an overview of future research directions and opportunities in these integrated piezoelectric technologies.
BIO
Ruochen Lu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He received the B.E. degree with honors in microelectronics from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, in 2014, and Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA, in 2019.
His research primarily focuses on developing chip-scale acoustic and electromagnetic components and microsystems for RF applications. His works aim to demonstrate RF MEMS platforms, toward higher operating frequencies and more efficient transduction between the EM and acoustics. Additionally, he works on ultrasonic transducers and multiphysics hybrid microsystems for signal processing, sensing, and computing applications.
He received the IEEE MTT-S Microwave Award in 2022, the IEEE Ultrasonics Early Career Investigator Award in 2024, and the NSF Career Award in 2024. Along with his students, he received Best Student Paper Awards at IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium (IFCS) 2017 and 2023, IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS) 2018 and 2022, IEEE International Conference on Microwave Acoustics & Mechanics (IC-MAM) 2022, and third-place Best Student Paper Award at IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS) 2024. He received the Junior Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award in 2024 from the University of Texas at Austin. He is an associate editor of the IEEE Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, the IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, and the IEEE Journal of Microwaves.
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