Temperature compensation for silicon MEMS resonator
First Claim
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1. A micromechanical resonator, comprising:
- a substrate formed from a first material having a first thermal expansion coefficient;
a beam suspended above the substrate and formed from a plurality of materials which, in combination, provide a second thermal expansion coefficient; and
an anchor structure, coupled to the beam, to suspend the beam above the substrate, wherein the anchor structure is formed from a plurality of materials which, in combination, provide a third thermal expansion coefficient and wherein the third thermal expansion coefficient is different from the second thermal expansion coefficient.
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Abstract
Thermally induced frequency variations in a micromechanical resonator are actively or passively mitigated by application of a compensating stiffness, or a compressive/tensile strain. Various composition materials may be selected according to their thermal expansion coefficient and used to form resonator components on a substrate. When exposed to temperature variations, the relative expansion of these composition materials creates a compensating stiffness, or a compressive/tensile strain.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A micromechanical resonator, comprising:
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a substrate formed from a first material having a first thermal expansion coefficient; a beam suspended above the substrate and formed from a plurality of materials which, in combination, provide a second thermal expansion coefficient; and an anchor structure, coupled to the beam, to suspend the beam above the substrate, wherein the anchor structure is formed from a plurality of materials which, in combination, provide a third thermal expansion coefficient and wherein the third thermal expansion coefficient is different from the second thermal expansion coefficient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A micromechanical resonator, comprising:
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a substrate formed from a first material having a first thermal expansion coefficient; a beam formed from a second and third materials which, in combination, provide a second thermal expansion coefficient which is different from the first thermal expansion coefficient, wherein the beam is suspended above the substrate by at least one anchor structure; wherein the at least one anchor structure is formed from a plurality of materials which, in combination, provide a third thermal expansion coefficient which is different from the second thermal expansion coefficient. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A micromechanical resonator, comprising:
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a substrate formed from a first material having a first thermal expansion coefficient; an oscillating beam formed from an active layer deposited over the substrate, wherein the active layer is formed from;
(1) a second material having a second thermal expansion coefficient which is different from the first thermal expansion coefficient and (2) a third material having a third thermal expansion coefficient which is different from the second thermal expansion coefficient;a first anchor structure which is formed, at least in part, from a fourth material having a fourth thermal expansion coefficient, and wherein the fourth thermal expansion coefficient is different from the second and third thermal expansion coefficients; and wherein the first anchor structure is disposed on the substrate to, at least in part, support the oscillating beam above the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification