Particle swarm optimization for design of MEMS resonators with low thermoelastic dissipation

The geometry of a MEMS tuning fork resonator was optimized using a bio-inspired binary particle swarm optimization (BPSO) technique in order to reduce energy dissipation from thermoelastic dissipation (TED). The optimization technique combines fundamental physics with bio-inspired algorithms to navigate the complicated design space that arises from multiphysical problems. Fully-coupled thermomechanical simulations were used for optimization of Q_TED, which is the quality factor (Q) as limited by thermoelastic dissipation (TED). Through this approach, a TED-limited Q of 57,000 was simulated, showing a 40% improvement over previous designs that were generated from the conventional intuitive design approach. This trend of improved Q for BPSO-optimized designs over previous optimization using manual slot placement was also confirmed with experiments.