| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080246559 | Lithographically-defined multi-standard multi-frequency high-Q tunable micromechanical resonators - Disclosed are micromechanical resonator apparatus having features that permit multiple resonators on the same substrate to operate at different operating frequencies. Exemplary micromechanical resonator apparatus includes a support substrate and suspended micromechanical resonator apparatus having a resonance frequency. In one embodiment, the suspended micromechanical resonator apparatus comprises a device substrate that is suspended from and attached to the support substrate, a piezoelectric layer formed on the suspended device substrate, and a plurality of interdigitated upper electrodes formed on the piezoelectric layer. In another embodiment, the suspended micromechanical resonator apparatus comprises a device substrate that is suspended from and attached to the support substrate, a lower electrode formed on the suspended device substrate, a piezoelectric layer formed on the lower electrode, and a plurality of interdigitated upper electrodes formed on the piezoelectric layer. The substrate may comprise a silicon substrate, or a semiconductor-on-insulator substrate, such as a diamond on silicon substrate. Additionally, lateral frequency-adjusting electrodes may be disposed adjacent to the resonator apparatus that are separated therefrom by a capacitive gap, and which are configured to receive a direct current voltage that adjusts the resonance frequency of the resonator apparatus. | 10-09-2008 |
| 20080297281 | Piezo-on-diamond resonators and resonator systems - Disclosed are piezoelectrically-transduced micromachined bulk acoustic resonators fabricated on a polycrystalline diamond film deposited on a carrier substrate. Exemplary resonators comprise a substrate having a smooth diamond layer disposed thereon. A piezoelectric layer is disposed on the diamond layer and top and bottom electrodes sandwich the piezoelectric layer. The resonant structure comprising the diamond layer, piezoelectric layer and electrodes are released from the substrate and are free to vibrate. Additionally, one or more sensing platforms may be coupled to the substrate to form a mass sensor. | 12-04-2008 |
| 20090002915 | Micro-electromechanical voltage tunable capacitor and and filter devices - Disclosed are one-port and two-port voltage-tunable micro-electromechanical capacitors, switches, and filter devices. High aspect-ratio metal micromachining is used to implement very high quality factor (Q) tunable and fixed capacitors, fixed inductors, and low insertion loss tunable and fixed bandpass LC filters. The tunable capacitors can move in the plane of the substrate by the application of DC voltages and achieve greater than 100% of tuning. A combination of low-loss substrate and highest conductivity metal is used to achieve record high Q and low insertion loss at radio frequencies. The disclosed tunable capacitor structure can also be used as a micromechanical switch. | 01-01-2009 |
| 20090064781 | Readout method and electronic bandwidth control for a silicon in-plane tuning fork gyroscope - Disclosed are methods and a sensor architecture that utilizes the residual quadrature error in a gyroscope to achieve and maintain perfect mode-matching, i.e., ˜0 Hz split between the drive and sense mode frequencies, and to electronically control sensor bandwidth. In a reduced-to-practice embodiment, a 6 mW, 3V CMOS ASIC and control algorithm are interfaced to a mode-matched MEMS tuning fork gyroscope to implement an angular rate sensor with bias drift as low as 0.15°/hr and angle random walk of 0.003°/√hr, which is the lowest recorded to date for a silicon MEMS gyroscope. The system bandwidth can be configured between 0.1 Hz and 1 kHz. | 03-12-2009 |
| 20090072663 | SINGLE-RESONATOR DUAL-FREQUENCY LATERAL-EXTENSION MODE PIEZOELECTRIC OSCILLATORS, AND OPERATING METHODS THEREOF - Oscillators include a resonator having first and second electrodes and configured to resonate at a first frequency at which the first and second electrodes carry in-phase signals and at a second frequency at which the first and second electrodes carry out-of-phase signals. A driver circuit is configured to selectively sustain either the in-phase signals on the first and second electrodes or the out-of-phase signals on the first and second electrodes so that the resonator selectively resonates at either the first frequency or the second frequency, respectively. Related oscillator operating methods are also disclosed. | 03-19-2009 |
| 20090095079 | BULK ACOUSTIC WAVE ACCELEROMETERS - Accelerometers and associated techniques for detecting motion are described. For a resonant accelerometer, an externally-applied acceleration can cause a change in the electrical spring constant K | 04-16-2009 |
| 20090266162 | BULK ACOUSTIC WAVE GYROSCOPE - Capacitive bulk acoustic wave x, y and z-axes gyroscopes implemented on (100) and (111) silicon substrates are disclosed. Exemplary gyroscopes comprise a handle substrate, a bulk acoustic wave resonator element supported by the handle substrate, and a plurality of electrodes surrounding and separated from the resonator element by very small capacitive gaps. The electrodes can excite and detect at least two degenerate bulk acoustic wave resonant modes in the resonator. Advantages include reduced size; higher Q, which improves noise and bias stability; larger bandwidth, and improved shock resistance. In addition, the high Q is maintained in atmospheric or near-atmospheric pressure which reduces the cost and complexity of the wafer-scale packaging of the gyroscope. | 10-29-2009 |
| 20100060111 | Thin-Film Piezoelectric-on-Insulator Resonators Having Perforated Resonator Bodies Therein - A micro-electromechanical resonator self-compensates for process-induced dimensional variations by using a resonator body having a plurality of perforations therein. These perforations may be spaced along a longitudinal axis of the resonator body, which extends orthogonal to a nodal line of the resonator body. These perforations, which may be square or similarly-shaped polygonal slots, may extend partially or entirely though the resonator body and may be defined by the same processes that are used to define the outer dimensions (e.g., length, width) of the resonator body. | 03-11-2010 |
| 20100066467 | Lithographically Defined Multi-Standard Multi-Frequency High-Q Tunable Micromechanical Resonators - Disclosed are micromechanical resonator apparatus having features that permit multiple resonators on the same substrate to operate at different operating frequencies. Exemplary micromechanical resonator apparatus includes a support substrate and suspended micromechanical resonator apparatus having a resonance frequency. In one embodiment, the suspended micromechanical resonator apparatus comprises a device substrate that is suspended from and attached to the support substrate, a piezoelectric layer formed on the suspended device substrate, and a plurality of interdigitated upper electrodes formed on the piezoelectric layer. In another embodiment, the suspended micromechanical resonator apparatus comprises a device substrate that is suspended from and attached to the support substrate, a lower electrode formed on the suspended device substrate, a piezoelectric layer formed on the lower electrode, and a plurality of interdigitated upper electrodes formed on the piezoelectric layer. The substrate may comprise a silicon substrate, or a semiconductor-on-insulator substrate, such as a diamond on silicon substrate. Additionally, lateral frequency-adjusting electrodes may be disposed adjacent to the resonator apparatus that are separated therefrom by a capacitive gap, and which are configured to receive a direct current voltage that adjusts the resonance frequency of the resonator apparatus. | 03-18-2010 |
| 20100127596 | Micro-Electromechanical Resonators Having Boron-Doped and Boron-Assisted Aluminum-Doped Resonator Bodies Therein - A micro-electromechanical resonator includes a resonator body having a semiconductor region therein doped with boron to a level greater than about 1×10 | 05-27-2010 |
| 20100127798 | Micro-Electromechanical Resonators Having Electrically-Trimmed Resonator Bodies Therein and Methods of Fabricating Same Using Joule Heating - A micro-electromechanical resonator includes an electrically-trimmed resonator body having at least one stiffness-enhanced semiconductor region therein containing metal-semiconductor lattice bonds. These metal-semiconductor lattice bonds may be gold-silicon lattice bonds and/or aluminum-silicon lattice bonds. A surface of the resonator body is mass-loaded with the metal, which may be provided by a plurality of spaced-apart metal islands. These metal islands may be aligned along a longitudinal axis of the resonator body. A size of the at least one stiffness-enhanced polycrystalline semiconductor region may be sufficient to yield an increase in resonant frequency of the resonator body relative to an otherwise equivalent resonator having a single crystal resonator body that is free of mass-loading by the metal. | 05-27-2010 |
| 20100176489 | Microelectromechanical systems structures and self-aligned harpss fabrication processes for producing same - Disclosed are one-port and two-port microelectromechanical structures including variable capacitors, switches, and filter devices. High aspect-ratio micromachining is used to implement low-voltage, large value tunable and fixed capacitors, and the like. Tunable capacitors can move in the plane of the substrate by the application of DC voltages and achieve greater than 240 percent of tuning. Exemplary microelectromechanical apparatus comprises a single crystalline silicon substrate, and a conductive structure laterally separated from the single crystalline silicon substrate by first and second high aspect ratio gaps of different size, wherein at least one of the high aspect ratio gaps has an aspect ratio of at least 30:1, and is vertically anchored to the single crystalline silicon substrate by way of silicon nitride. | 07-15-2010 |
| 20100307786 | Packaging For Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems And Methods Of Fabricating Thereof - Embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods for producing micro electro-mechanical device packages. Briefly described, in architecture, one embodiment of the system, among others, includes a micro electro-mechanical device formed on a substrate layer; and a thermally decomposable sacrificial structure protecting at least a portion of the micro electro-mechanical device, where the sacrificial structure is formed on the substrate layer and surrounds a gas cavity enclosing an active surface of the micro electro-mechanical device. Other systems and methods are also provided. | 12-09-2010 |
| 20100308930 | Integrated Circuit Oscillators Having Microelectromechanical Resonators Therein with Parasitic Impedance Cancellation - An integrated circuit oscillator includes a microelectromechanical (MEM) resonator having input and output terminals. An oscillation sustaining circuit is provided. The oscillation sustaining circuit is electrically coupled between the input and output terminals of the microelectromechanical resonator. The oscillation sustaining circuit includes a sustaining amplifier and a negative impedance circuit electrically coupled to the sustaining amplifier. The negative impedance circuit is configured to increase a tuning range of the oscillator by at least partially cancelling a parasitic shunt capacitance associated with the microelectromechanical resonator. | 12-09-2010 |
| 20100319185 | Methods of Forming Micromechanical Resonators Having High Density Trench Arrays Therein that Provide Passive Temperature Compensation - A method of forming a micromechanical resonator includes forming a resonator body anchored to a substrate by at least a first anchor. This resonator body may include a semiconductor or other first material having a negative temperature coefficient of elasticity (TCE). A two-dimensional array of spaced-apart trenches are provided in the resonator body. These trenches may be filled with an electrically insulating or other second material having a positive TCE. The array of trenches may extend uniformly across the resonator body, including regions in the body that have relatively high and low mechanical stress during resonance. This two-dimensional array (or network) of trenches can be modeled as a network of mass-spring systems with springs in parallel and/or in series with respect to a direction of a traveling acoustic wave within the resonator body during resonance. | 12-23-2010 |
| 20110050366 | MEMS Resonators Having Resonator Bodies Therein with Concave-Shaped Sides that Support High Quality Factor and Low Temperature Coefficient of Resonant Frequency - A microelectromechanical (MEMs) resonator includes a concave bulk acoustic resonator (CBAR). One embodiment of a CBAR includes a substrate and a resonator body suspended over the substrate by a pair of fixed supports that attach to first and second opposing ends of the resonator body. The resonator body has a first concave-shaped side extending between the first and second ends of the resonator body and a second concave-shaped side extending opposite the first concave-shaped side. The resonator body may be configured to have a minimum spacing of λ/2 between the first and second concave-shaped sides, where λ is a wavelength associated with a resonant frequency of said resonator body. | 03-03-2011 |
| 20110133848 | Thin-Film Piezoelectric-on-Insulator Resonators Having Perforated Resonator Bodies Therein - A micro-electromechanical resonator self-compensates for process-induced dimensional variations by using a resonator body having a plurality of perforations therein. These perforations may be spaced along a longitudinal axis of the resonator body, which extends orthogonal to a nodal line of the resonator body. These perforations, which may be square or similarly-shaped polygonal slots, may extend partially or entirely though the resonator body and may be defined by the same processes that are used to define the outer dimensions (e.g., length, width) of the resonator body. | 06-09-2011 |
