Multistable tunable micromechanical resonators
First Claim
1. A multistable electromicromechanical resonator, comprising:
- a substrate;
a micromechanical beam structure having micron-scale dimensions movable with respect to said substrate along an axis;
spring arms connected between said beam and said substrate, said spring arms and movable beam having a rest position and having a natural resonant frequency;
first and second electrostatic actuators, each actuator having a first set of finger electrodes mounted on said beam for motion with the beam, and each actuator having a second set of finger electrodes fixedly mounted on said substrate, said first and second sets of finger electrodes of each actuator being opposed and non-overlapping to provide a gap therebetween;
a bias voltage connected across each set of electrodes to shift said movable beam from said rest position to one of two stable positions to produce a bistable resonator; and
a drive signal connected across selected electrodes to produce oscillation of said beam at said one stable position.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A multistable tunable electromicromechanical resonator structure incorporates electrostatic actuators which permit modification of the resonant frequency of the structure. The actuators consist of sets of opposed electrode fingers, each set having a multiplicity of spaced, parallel fingers. One set is mounted on a movable portion of the resonator structure and one set is mounted on an adjacent fixed base or substrate, with the fingers in opposed relationship and their adjacent ends spaced apart by a gap. An adjustable bias voltage across the sets of electrodes adjusts the resonant frequency of the movable structure and shifts the structure to a bistable state. Application of an alternating drive signal drives the structure to chaotic oscillation.
316 Citations
15 Claims
-
1. A multistable electromicromechanical resonator, comprising:
-
a substrate; a micromechanical beam structure having micron-scale dimensions movable with respect to said substrate along an axis; spring arms connected between said beam and said substrate, said spring arms and movable beam having a rest position and having a natural resonant frequency; first and second electrostatic actuators, each actuator having a first set of finger electrodes mounted on said beam for motion with the beam, and each actuator having a second set of finger electrodes fixedly mounted on said substrate, said first and second sets of finger electrodes of each actuator being opposed and non-overlapping to provide a gap therebetween; a bias voltage connected across each set of electrodes to shift said movable beam from said rest position to one of two stable positions to produce a bistable resonator; and a drive signal connected across selected electrodes to produce oscillation of said beam at said one stable position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A microelectromechanical resonator system for secure communication, comprising:
-
a first and a second microelectromechanical spring mass, each mounted for motion with respect to a corresponding fixed support and having a rest position and a natural resonant frequency; a plurality of electrostatic actuators connected between each fixed support and its corresponding spring mass; bias voltages connected to said actuators to shift each spring mass to a bistable state; a drive signal containing information to be communicated connected to drive said first spring mass to chaotic oscillation; a sensor responsive to the oscillation of said first spring mass to produce a chaotic output signal incorporating said drive signal; means for transmitting said chaotic output signal to drive said second spring mass to chaotic oscillation; and means for deriving from said chaotic oscillation of said second spring mass an output corresponding to said drive signal. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
-
Specification