Optimized design and process for making a DC voltage reference based on MEMS
A micromechanical moving plate capacitor has been designed and fabricated for use as a dc voltage reference. The reference is based on the characteristic pull-in property of a capacitive microelectromechanical system (MEMS) component. The design is optimized for stability. A new silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process has been developed to manufacture the component. We also report on improved feedback electronics and the latest measurement results.
Microelectromechanical resonators for frequency reference and frequency conversion applications
OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION HELSINKI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY P.O. BOX 1000, FI-02015 TKK http://www.tkk.fi Author Mika Petteri Koskenvuori Name of the dissertation Microelectromechanical resonators for frequency reference and frequency conversion applications Manuscript submitted 07.12.2007 Manuscript revised 03.03.2008 Date of the defence 04.04.2008 Monograph Article dissertation (summary + original articles) Faculty Faculty of Electronics, Communications and Automation Department Department of Micro and Nanosciences Field of research Microsystems Opponent(s) prof. Gabriel Abadal Supervisor prof. Ilkka Tittonen Abstract Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have been used in sensor applications for more than three decades. With improvements in design and microfabrication, MEMS based solutions are also entering the field of RF electronics. In this thesis, the main emphasis is laid on two different capacitively coupled resonant micromechanical systems, which are the frequency reference and frequency down-converter. It is shown that a high precision frequency reference with the stability comparable to a macroscopic quartz oscillator can be realised using a micromechanical silicon resonator. An oscillator with a phase-noise of Lf = -138 dBc/Hz at ∆f = 1 kHz offset from the fc = 13 MHz carrier and with a noise-floor of L = -150 dBc/Hz is realised with a bulk acoustic vibrational mode. It is also shown that the long-term stability of the encapsulated resonators is sufficient for high precision frequency references: the measured frequency stability is ∆f/f < ±1 ppm for a period of t = 1000 h with a drift of |∆f/∆t| < (1.15 5.25)×10 Hz/h. These results suggest that the demands on the centre frequency stability, which is usually specified for a time scale of one year for various frequency references in wireless communication, can be fulfilled. For a more detailed study of the instability mechanisms of capacitive MEMS devices a fast method to measure the built-in potentials is presented. Two approaches to convert the high frequency input signal down to the mechanical resonance frequency of the MEMS-devices using micromechanical mixers are demonstrated. In the first method a local oscillator signal is used to perform the conversion to the carrier signal at fc = 390 MHz. The second method leads to an intrinsic conversion of an AM-modulated signal without any local oscillator. This conversion is demonstrated up to fc = 1.5 GHz. The second method is used to perform the demodulation of a signal carrying a few bits of information in a micromechanical radio. Parametric amplification is suggested as a low-noise method to improve the conversion performance of micromechanical mixers. An improvement of the conversion performance by more than 30 dB is demonstrated. Novel approaches to improve the conversion are suggested through mathematical simulations. A fabrication process combining atomic layer deposition, electron beam lithography and cryogenic etching is demonstrated. The process can be used for fast prototyping of MEMS-devices at least for research purposes. As a result a few micromechanical resonators can be fabricated in a few hours time from the original design without the need of using a metallic photomask but applying a direct electron beam writing in lithography.Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have been used in sensor applications for more than three decades. With improvements in design and microfabrication, MEMS based solutions are also entering the field of RF electronics. In this thesis, the main emphasis is laid on two different capacitively coupled resonant micromechanical systems, which are the frequency reference and frequency down-converter. It is shown that a high precision frequency reference with the stability comparable to a macroscopic quartz oscillator can be realised using a micromechanical silicon resonator. An oscillator with a phase-noise of Lf = -138 dBc/Hz at ∆f = 1 kHz offset from the fc = 13 MHz carrier and with a noise-floor of L = -150 dBc/Hz is realised with a bulk acoustic vibrational mode. It is also shown that the long-term stability of the encapsulated resonators is sufficient for high precision frequency references: the measured frequency stability is ∆f/f < ±1 ppm for a period of t = 1000 h with a drift of |∆f/∆t| < (1.15 5.25)×10 Hz/h. These results suggest that the demands on the centre frequency stability, which is usually specified for a time scale of one year for various frequency references in wireless communication, can be fulfilled. For a more detailed study of the instability mechanisms of capacitive MEMS devices a fast method to measure the built-in potentials is presented. Two approaches to convert the high frequency input signal down to the mechanical resonance frequency of the MEMS-devices using micromechanical mixers are demonstrated. In the first method a local oscillator signal is used to perform the conversion to the carrier signal at fc = 390 MHz. The second method leads to an intrinsic conversion of an AM-modulated signal without any local oscillator. This conversion is demonstrated up to fc = 1.5 GHz. The second method is used to perform the demodulation of a signal carrying a few bits of information in a micromechanical radio. Parametric amplification is suggested as a low-noise method to improve the conversion performance of micromechanical mixers. An improvement of the conversion performance by more than 30 dB is demonstrated. Novel approaches to improve the conversion are suggested through mathematical simulations. A fabrication process combining atomic layer deposition, electron beam lithography and cryogenic etching is demonstrated. The process can be used for fast prototyping of MEMS-devices at least for research purposes. As a result a few micromechanical resonators can be fabricated in a few hours time from the original design without the need of using a metallic photomask but applying a direct electron beam writing in lithography.
Numerical tools applied to power reactor noise analysis
In order to be able to calculate the space- and frequency-dependent neutron noise in real inhomogeneous systems in two-group theory, a code was developed for the calculation of the Green's function (dynamic transfer function) of such systems. This paper reports on the development as well as the test and application of the numerical tools employed. The code that was developed yields the space-dependence of the fluctuations of the neutron flux induced by fluctuating properties of the medium in the two-group diffusion approximation and in a two-dimensional representation of heterogeneous systems, for both critical systems and non-critical systems with an external source. Some applications of these tools to power reactor noise analysis are then described, including the unfolding of the parameters of the noise source from the induced neutron noise, measured at a few discrete locations throughout the core. Other concrete applications concern the study of the space-dependence of the Decay Ratio in Boiling Water Reactors, the noise-based estimation of the Moderator Temperature Coefficient of reactivity in Pressurized Water Reactors, the modeling of the beam- and shell-mode core-barrel vibrations in Pressurized Water Reactors, and the investigation of the validity of the point-kinetic approximation in subcritical systems driven by an external source. In most of these applications, calculations performed using the code are compared with at-power plant measurements. Power reactor noise analysis applications of the above type, i.e. core monitoring without disturbing plant operation, is of particular interest in the framework of the extensive program of power uprates worldwide.