In-situ ovenization of Lamé-mode silicon resonators for temperature compensation

This paper reports an inside-encapsulation ovenization method for the temperature compensation of Lamé-mode epi-sealed silicon resonators. With this method, the square Lamé-mode resonator itself acts both as a thermometer and a heater, which allows for simultaneous in situ sensing and control of the operating temperature. In this device, only the resonating element is heated, reducing the power consumption and the thermal time constant, relative to approaches which control the temperature of an entire MEMS chip or system. Preliminary results of real-time frequency compensation achieve a frequency stability of ~5ppm over -40~+80°C without the need for sophisticated control schemes.