Wafer-Level Packaged MEMS Resonators with a Highly Vacuum-Sensitive Quality Factor

• Published in: Journal of semiconductor technology and science 2014, 14(5), 59, pp.632-639
• Main Authors: Kang, Seok Jin, Moon, Young Soon, Son, Won Ho, Choi, Sie Young
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 전기공학
• ISSN: 1598-1657; 2233-4866
• DOI: 10.5573/JSTS.2014.14.5.632

Mechanical stress and the vacuum level are the two main factors dominating the quality factor of a resonator operated in the vacuum range 1 mTorr to 10 Torr. This means that if the quality factor of a resonator is very insensitive to the mechanical stress in the vacuum range, it is sensitive to mainly the ambient vacuum level. In this paper, a wafer-level packaged MEMS resonator with a highly vacuum-sensitive quality factor is presented. The proposed device is characterized by a package with out-of-plane symmetry and a suspending structure with only a single anchor. Out-of-plane symmetry helps prevent deformation of the packaged device due to thermal mismatch, and a single-clamped structure facilitates constraint-free displacement. As a result, the proposed device is very insensitive to mechanical stress and is sensitive to mainly the ambient vacuum level. The average quality factors of the devices packaged under pressures of 50, 100, and 200 mTorr were 4987, 3415, and 2127, respectively. The results demonstrated the high controllability of the quality factor by vacuum adjustment. The mechanical robustness of the quality factor was confirmed by comparing the quality factors before and after high-temperature storage. Furthermore, through more than 50 days of monitoring, the stability of the quality factor was also certified. KCI Citation Count: 1