Clark T.-C. Nguyen (Advisor)

This dissertation describes a MEMS-based frequency-selective power amplifier that performs both signal filtering and power amplification, while consuming zero power when there is no input, i.e., zero-quiescent power consumption. The frequency-selective power amplifier employs a micromechanical resonant switch (resoswitch) as a key building block similar to those recently used for zero-quiescent power radio receivers, but capable of handling higher powers. This document details the design, fabrication, and characterization of these higher frequency and higher power micromechanical...

Both the accuracy of the clocks and ability of filters to achieve bandwidths small enough to select individual channels depend heavily on the accuracy and precision to which the frequency-setting devices they rely on are constructed. Inevitably, fabrication tolerances are finite, which means the ability to attain the highest performance relies on trimming or tuning. This dissertation focuses on methods by which voltage-controlled frequency tuning of capacitively-transduced micromechanical resonators make possible 1) an ultra-compact, low-power 32.768-kHz micromechanical clock...