This project will investigate new materials suitable for achieving Q-factors in excess of 1 million in resonating gyroscopes. Experimental studies of dissipation caused by thermoelastic and surface losses will be performed using resonator test structures. The effect of doping and microstructure is explored on CVD diamond MEMS resonators. Hundreds of surface micromachined cantilevers and double-ended tuning fork (DETF) resonators were fabricated in nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) and microcrystalline diamond (MCD) films deposited using hot filament CVD technique with varying levels of Boron doping, Deposition temperature and methane flow rate. Thermal conductivities of diamond films were measured using TDTR technique for further mapping of theory and experiment. The dissipation mechanisms were further explored over temperature range from 300-730 Kelvin.
Project end date: 08/24/15