Microelectromechanical system oscillator

Summary

Microelectromechanical system oscillators (MEMS oscillators) are devices that generate highly stable reference frequencies (used to sequence electronic systems, manage data transfer, define radio frequencies, and measure elapsed time) to measure time. The core technologies used in MEMS oscillators have been in development since the mid-1960s, but have only been sufficiently advanced for commercial applications since 2006. MEMS oscillators incorporate MEMS resonators, which are microelectromechanical structures that define stable frequencies. MEMS clock generators are MEMS timing devices with multiple outputs for systems that need more than a single reference frequency. MEMS oscillators are a valid alternative to older, more established quartz crystal oscillators, offering better resilience against vibration and mechanical shock, and reliability with respect to temperature variation. MEMS timing devices Resonators MEMS resonators are small electromechanical structur

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microelectromechanical_system_oscillator

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Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices, such as accelerometers, are widely used across industries, including the automotive, consumer electronics, and medical industries. MEMS are efficiently produced at very high volumes using large-scale semiconductor manufacturing techniques. However, these techniques are not viable for the costefficient manufacturing of specialized MEMS devices at low- and medium-scale volumes. Thus, applications that require custom-designed MEMS devices for markets with low- and medium-scale volumes of below 5000-10,000 components per year are extremely difficult to address efficiently. The 3D printing of MEMS devices could enable the efficient realization and production of MEMS devices at these low- and medium-scale volumes. However, current micro-3D printing technologies have limited capabilities for printing functional MEMS. Herein, we demonstrate a functional 3D-printed MEMS accelerometer using 3D printing by two-photon polymerization in combination with the deposition of a strain gauge transducer by metal evaporation. We characterized the responsivity, resonance frequency, and stability over time of the MEMS accelerometer. Our results demonstrate that the 3D printing of functional MEMS is a viable approach that could enable the efficient realization of a variety of custom-designed MEMS devices, addressing new application areas that are difficult or impossible to address using conventional MEMS manufacturing.

SPRINGERNATURE2022

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This paper presents a novel read-out approach both for eliminating parasitic feedthrough current and for enhancing the quality-factor (Q) of the resonating system at the same time. A new resonance characterization method based on sensing second harmonic component of the resonators was developed. Utilizing this method, the feedthrough current was eliminated and the signal-to-background ratio was increased from 0.9 dB to 35.5 dB. Furthermore, the Q of the resonating system was improved by 65% experimentally. It was shown that this method is suitable for eliminating both capacitive and resistive feedthrough current without using complex MEMS designs and interface electronics. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA2018

Effective quality factor tuning mechanisms in micromechanical resonators

Azadeh Ansari, Luis Guillermo Villanueva Torrijo

Quality factor (Q) is an important property of micro- and nano-electromechanical (MEM/NEM) resonators that underlie timing references, frequency sources, atomic force microscopes, gyroscopes, and mass sensors. Various methods have been utilized to tune the effective quality factor of MEM/NEM resonators, including external proportional feedback control, optical pumping, mechanical pumping, thermal-piezoresistive pumping, and parametric pumping. This work reviews these mechanisms and compares the effective Q tuning using a position-proportional and a velocity-proportional force expression. We further clarify the relationship between the mechanical Q, the effective Q, and the thermomechanical noise of a resonator. We finally show that parametric pumping and thermal-piezoresistive pumping enhance the effective Q of a micromechanical resonator by experimentally studying the thermomechanical noise spectrum of a device subjected to both techniques. (C) 2018 Author(s).

2018