Stacked balanced resonators
First Claim
1. A resonator, comprising:
- a first resonant mass spatially separated from a first support structure and movably coupled by at least one elastic member at an anchor point to the first support structure, where the first resonant mass has a longitudinal axis residing in a first geometric plane;
a first set of drive electrodes disposed adjacent to the first resonant mass along a periphery of the first resonant mass, where the first set of drive electrodes is configured to vibrate the first resonant mass along an axis defining the first geometric plane;
a second resonant mass spatially separated from a second support structure and movably coupled by at least one elastic member at an anchor point to the second support structure, where the second resonant mass has a longitudinal axis residing in a second geometric plane which differs from the first geometric plane but is substantially parallel with the first geometric plane; and
a second set of drive electrodes disposed adjacent to the second resonant mass along a periphery of the second resonant mass, where the second set of drive electrodes is configured to vibrate the second resonant mass along the same axis as the first resonant mass but 180 degrees out-of-phase with movement of the first resonant mass;
wherein the first support structure is a planar body having a cutout therein and the first resonant mass is a planar body arranged in the cutout of the first support structure; and
the second support structure is a planar body having a cutout therein and the second resonant mass is a planar body arranged in the cutout of the second support structure.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A resonator array comprises substantially paralleled first and second resonant layers having resonating masses. A first set of lateral drive electrodes cause the first resonating mass to vibrate along an axis in a first geometric plane. A second set of lateral drive electrodes cause the second resonating mass to vibrate along an axis in a second geometric plane in an opposite direction of the first resonating mass by about 180 degrees. Rotation in the system causes the masses to vibrate out-of-plane in opposite directions. The opposite vibrational directions of the first and second resonating masses produces a balanced system with small motion in a bonding area between the stacked resonators. As a result, there is minimal propagation of mechanical waves from the balanced system to a substrate resulting in lower anchor loss and a high Q-factor.
7 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A resonator, comprising:
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a first resonant mass spatially separated from a first support structure and movably coupled by at least one elastic member at an anchor point to the first support structure, where the first resonant mass has a longitudinal axis residing in a first geometric plane; a first set of drive electrodes disposed adjacent to the first resonant mass along a periphery of the first resonant mass, where the first set of drive electrodes is configured to vibrate the first resonant mass along an axis defining the first geometric plane; a second resonant mass spatially separated from a second support structure and movably coupled by at least one elastic member at an anchor point to the second support structure, where the second resonant mass has a longitudinal axis residing in a second geometric plane which differs from the first geometric plane but is substantially parallel with the first geometric plane; and a second set of drive electrodes disposed adjacent to the second resonant mass along a periphery of the second resonant mass, where the second set of drive electrodes is configured to vibrate the second resonant mass along the same axis as the first resonant mass but 180 degrees out-of-phase with movement of the first resonant mass; wherein the first support structure is a planar body having a cutout therein and the first resonant mass is a planar body arranged in the cutout of the first support structure; and
the second support structure is a planar body having a cutout therein and the second resonant mass is a planar body arranged in the cutout of the second support structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A resonator, comprising:
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a first resonant mass spatially separated from a first support structure and movably coupled by at least one elastic member at an anchor point to the first support structure, where the first resonant mass has a longitudinal axis residing in a first geometric plane; a first set of drive electrodes disposed adjacent to the first resonant mass along a periphery of the first resonant mass, where the first set of drive electrodes is configured to vibrate the first resonant mass along an axis defining the first geometric plane; a second resonant mass spatially separated from a second support structure and movably coupled by at least one elastic member at an anchor point to the second support structure, where the second resonant mass has a longitudinal axis residing in a second geometric plane which differs from the first geometric plane but is substantially parallel with the first geometric plane; a second set of drive electrodes disposed adjacent to the second resonant mass along a periphery of the second resonant mass, where the second set of drive electrodes is configured to vibrate the second resonant mass along the same axis as the first resonant mass but 180 degrees out-of-phase with movement of the first resonant mass; a first set of tuning electrodes disposed adjacent to the first resonant mass and configured to generate an electric field that surrounds the first resonant mass and thereby changes natural oscillating frequency of the first resonant mass; and a second set of tuning electrodes disposed adjacent to the second resonant mass and configured to generate an electric field that surrounds the second resonant mass and thereby changes natural oscillating frequency of the second resonant mass.
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10. A resonator, comprising:
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a first resonant mass spatially separated from a first support structure and movably coupled by at least one elastic member at an anchor point to the first support structure, where the first resonant mass has a longitudinal axis residing in a first geometric plane; a first set of drive electrodes disposed adjacent to the first resonant mass along a periphery of the first resonant mass, where the first set of drive electrodes is configured to vibrate the first resonant mass along an axis defining the first geometric plane; a second resonant mass spatially separated from a second support structure and movably coupled by at least one elastic member at an anchor point to the second support structure, where the second resonant mass has a longitudinal axis residing in a second geometric plane which is spatially offset from the first geometric plane; and a second set of drive electrodes disposed adjacent to the second resonant mass along a periphery of the second resonant mass, where the second set of drive electrodes is configured to vibrate the second resonant mass along the same axis as the first resonant mass but 180 degrees out-of-phase with movement of the first resonant mass wherein the first geometric plane is substantially parallel with the second geometric plane and the first resonant mass overlays the second resonant mass such that each anchor point on the first support structure is fixedly coupled to a corresponding anchor point on the second support structure; wherein the first support structure is a planar body having a cutout therein and the first resonant mass is a planar body arranged in the cutout of the first support structure; and
the second support structure is a planar body having a cutout therein and the second resonant mass is a planar body arranged in the cutout of the second support structure. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A resonator, comprising:
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a first resonant mass spatially separated from a first support structure and movably coupled by at least one elastic member at an anchor point to the first support structure, where the first resonant mass has a longitudinal axis residing in a first geometric plane; a first set of drive electrodes disposed adjacent to the first resonant mass along a periphery of the first resonant mass, where the first set of drive electrodes is configured to vibrate the first resonant mass along an axis defining the first geometric plane; a second resonant mass spatially separated from a second support structure and movably coupled by at least one elastic member at an anchor point to the second support structure, where the second resonant mass has a longitudinal axis residing in a second geometric plane which is spatially offset from the first geometric plane; a second set of drive electrodes disposed adjacent to the second resonant mass along a periphery of the second resonant mass, where the second set of drive electrodes is configured to vibrate the second resonant mass along the same axis as the first resonant mass but 180 degrees out-of-phase with movement of the first resonant mass wherein the first geometric plane is substantially parallel with the second geometric plane and the first resonant mass overlays the second resonant mass such that each anchor point on the first support structure is fixedly coupled to a corresponding anchor point on the second support structure; a first set of tuning electrodes disposed adjacent to the first resonant mass and configured to generate an electric field that surrounds the first resonant mass and thereby changes natural oscillating frequency of the first resonant mass; and a second set of tuning electrodes disposed adjacent to the second resonant mass and configured to generate an electric field that surrounds the second resonant mass and thereby changes natural oscillating frequency of the second resonant mass.
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Specification