On the testing of MEMS resonators

Author

Mahdavi, S. ; Nabki, F. ; Sawan, M. ; El-Gamal, M.N.

Author_Institution

McGill Univ., Montreal, QC, Canada

fYear

2009

fDate

15-17 Nov. 2009

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

6

Abstract

This paper discusses the issues related to testing MEMS resonators, and suggests ways to mitigate the associated difficulties. Vacuum test conditions and their effect on the quality factor of a resonator are discussed. A custom-built vacuum system is described to simplify testing, and to avoid packaging at early stages of device characterization. Issues regarding the biasing and power handling of MEMS resonators are investigated, with specific attention given to electrostatic spring softening, and its effect on the response of the resonator. The use of MEMS resonators within an electronic oscillator is also discussed with respect to resonator non-linearity and phase noise performance.

Keywords

Q-factor; micromechanical resonators; oscillators; phase noise; testing; -built vacuum system; MEMS resonator testing; device characterization; electronic oscillator; electrostatic spring softening; phase noise performance; quality factor; resonator nonlinearity; vacuum test conditions; Electronics packaging; Electrostatics; Micromechanical devices; Oscillators; Phase noise; Q factor; Softening; Springs; System testing; Vacuum systems;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Design and Test Workshop (IDT), 2009 4th International

Conference_Location

Riyadh

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-5748-9

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IDT.2009.5404102

Filename

5404102