Compound spring MEMS resonators for frequency and timing generation
First Claim
1. A MEMS resonator comprising:
- a resonator body comprising a first spring-mass section and a second spring-mass section, each spring-mass section comprising a compound spring structure having a base end and an open end and a mass attached to the open end of the compound spring structure, the first and second spring-mass sections being connected at the base ends which form a pair of nodal points of minimum movement of the resonator body during resonant vibration of the resonator body, wherein the compound spring structure is formed from one or more spring unit cells and each spring unit cell comprises a folded spring structure including a pair of end sections connected to a pair of folded inner sections forming opposing concave structures;
a pair of anchors connected to a substrate and attached to opposite sides of the resonator body at the nodal points;
a drive electrode formed attached to the substrate and capacitively coupled to the mass of the first spring-mass section; and
a sense electrode formed attached to the substrate and capacitively coupled to the mass of the second spring-mass section.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A compound spring MEMS resonator includes a resonator body constructed using one or more spring unit cells forming a compound spring block and one or more compound spring blocks forming the resonator body. Each compound spring block is anchored at nodal points to ensure a high quality factor. The resonator body further includes masses attached to the open ends of the compound spring block and capacitively coupled to drive/sense electrodes. The dimensions of the spring unit cells, the number of spring unit cells for a compound spring block, the size and weight of the masses, and the length and width of the support beams are selected to realize a desired resonant frequency. Meanwhile, the number of compound spring blocks is selected to tune the desired electrical characteristics, such as impedance, of the MEMS resonator.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A MEMS resonator comprising:
-
a resonator body comprising a first spring-mass section and a second spring-mass section, each spring-mass section comprising a compound spring structure having a base end and an open end and a mass attached to the open end of the compound spring structure, the first and second spring-mass sections being connected at the base ends which form a pair of nodal points of minimum movement of the resonator body during resonant vibration of the resonator body, wherein the compound spring structure is formed from one or more spring unit cells and each spring unit cell comprises a folded spring structure including a pair of end sections connected to a pair of folded inner sections forming opposing concave structures; a pair of anchors connected to a substrate and attached to opposite sides of the resonator body at the nodal points; a drive electrode formed attached to the substrate and capacitively coupled to the mass of the first spring-mass section; and a sense electrode formed attached to the substrate and capacitively coupled to the mass of the second spring-mass section. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A MEMS resonator comprising:
-
a resonator body comprising one or more resonator units, each resonator unit comprising; a first spring-mass section and a second spring-mass section, each spring-mass section comprising a compound spring structure having a base end and an open end and a mass attached to the open end of the compound spring structure, the first and second spring-mass sections being connected at the base ends which form a pair of nodal points of minimum movement of the resonator unit during resonant vibration of the resonator unit, wherein the compound spring structure is formed from one or more spring unit cells and each spring unit cell comprises a folded spring structure including a pair of end sections connected to a pair of folded inner sections forming opposing concave structures; and a pair of anchors connected to a substrate and attached to opposite sides of the resonator unit at the nodal points, wherein the masses of the first spring-mass sections of the one or more resonator units are formed as a continuous structure to form a first mass, and the masses of the second spring-mass sections of the one or more resonator units are formed as a continuous structure to form a second mass, the first mass and the second mass being formed to connect the resonator units in parallel; a drive electrode formed attached to the substrate and capacitively coupled to the first mass; and a sense electrode formed attached to the substrate and capacitively coupled to the second mass. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification