Review and comparison of different support loss models for micro-electro-mechanical systems resonators undergoing in-plane vibration

Abstract

Several approaches for calculating support loss in micro-electro-mechanical system resonators undergoing in-plane vibration are reviewed. In each of them, the support is approximated as a semi-infinite domain. The first approach is analytical and models the support as a semi-infinite thin plate. This is compared with two different finite element approaches that introduce artificial boundaries to their finite domain. In order to absorb outgoing waves and model the infinite support, a perfectly matched layer method and the use of infinite elements are considered. Simple test cases are studied and the results for the support losses predicted by the different methods are compared. It is shown that each of the methods yields similar trends. Using the developed analytical model, a parametric study is performed on the support losses of a ring-based resonator. General strategies for improving the quality factor by reducing support losses are provided.