Interface Losses In Multimaterial Resonators

We present an extensive study shedding light on the role of surface and bulk losses in micromechanical resonators. We fabricate thin silicon nitride membranes of different sizes and we coat them with different thicknesses of metal. We later characterize the 81 lowest out-of-plane flexural vibrational modes to achieve a total of more than 3000 experimental points that allow us to quantify the contribution of surface and volume intrinsic (material related) losses in MEMS resonators. We conclude that the losses in the interface between silicon nitride and aluminum is a very important contributor to the overall energy loss.