The objective of this project is to design, fabricate, and demonstrate Nano-Mechanical Resonators (NMRs) with GHz natural frequencies. The Radial Bulk Annular Resonator (RBAR), our newest concept, represents a breakthrough in NMR design. Unlike its contemporaries, the RBAR can be arbitrarily sized for any given frequency. This provides design flexibility and increases the mechanical Q of the RBAR. Most importantly, the arbitrary sizing of the RBAR means tremendous reductions in the device’s equivalent resistance, Req. This leads to drastically reduced insertion loss, lower power consumption, and lower unit cost. Theoretically, the RBAR enables: · < 100uW power consumption per node · Ad-hoc, “pico-cell” wireless sensor networks · Adaptive/secure telecom systems · High-scale integration of RF components Recently, a poly-SiGe 200 MHz Bulk Longitudinal Resonator (BLR) was successfully fabricated by Emmanuel Quevy using the blade damascene process. The characteristics of the fabricated device correlates excellently with theoretical models, and demonstrates that electrostatic RF MEMS resonators can indeed be fabricated in a CMOS-compatible SiGe technology. Sub-100 nm gaps have also been successfully created in 2um poly-Si films using a focused ion beam. Such a technique may prove useful for demonstration devices, quick-turn prototyping, and frequency tuning of fabricated devices.
Project end date: 02/03/05