Silicon micromechanical resonator with thick-film printed vibration excitation and detection mechanisms

This paper presents details of the design, fabrication and testing of a micromechanical silicon beam resonator in which the vibrations are driven and detected by thick-film printed piezoelectric elements. This work has been carried out to demonstrate the potential for depositing lead zirconate titanate (PZT) material using a thick-film printing process and combining this approach with silicon micromachining processes. The resonator was initially simulated using finite element analysis in order to maximise the degree of mechanical coupling and, therefore, excitation and detection efficiency. Standard micromachining steps and thick-film printing processes have been successfully combined to fabricate the device. The resonator, 2 mm long and 0.52 mm wide, resonates in air and has a fundamental mode at 56.5 kHz with a e-factor of 70. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.