MEMS and microsystems for navigation, sensing, and spectral processing

Summary form only given. Micro and nano-electromechanical devices are poised to revolutionize integrated microsystems and provide paradigm shifts in sensing, communication, and navigation. Among them, micro and nano-resonators enable integrated platforms for environmental and biological sensing, inertial sensing, as well as energy harvesting, and are the building blocks for spectrum processing and timing applications. For example, the motion and position of an object in space can be accurately mapped through the use of a ten degrees-of-freedom (lO-DOF) sensing microsystem comprising of multi-axis accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers and barometers augmented with a stable timing resonator to synchronize the devices and enable sensor fusion. Fundamental characteristics of resonators such as frequency, impedance and quality factor (Q) have strong temperature and process dependencies that must be carefully designed and compensated for, especially in applications requiring high degree of stability and accuracy. Therefore, there exists a need to tune, compensate and reconfigure MEMS. Integration, interconnect, and packaging represent major challenges as substrates become thinner. Finally, the interface integrated circuits (interface IC) employed for the readout, actuation and reconfiguration of micro and nano-electromechanical devices play a critical role in delivering high performance in low-power microsystems. In this talk, I will present the latest advances in the area of high-Q microand nano-resonators and their applications to sensing, communication, and navigation.