CAREER: Active Transducers for MEMS Resonators in Integrated Circuit Technology

ECCS 1150071项目摘要射频微电子机械(MEM)谐振器的品质因数(Q)经常超过10,000，已经在通信、工业和汽车应用领域取得了多个成功案例。尽管射频MEMS领域已经成熟，但由于集成的复杂性和成本，以及MEMS器件和集成电路(IC)晶体管尺寸之间的巨大差距，与IC的紧密集成一直是不可能的。拟议的为期5年的计划将使用带有IC晶体管的机电换能器来探索多GHz MEMS谐振器，这将有助于克服这些障碍。智能优势：使用这种换能器的谐振器设计的根本性创新将使规模化、单片集成的RFMEMS器件在以前无法达到的频率下具有与芯片外同类器件相媲美的性能。我们将研究利用IC技术实现高换能器效率和高增益、高FT晶体管的MEMS谐振器中的有源转换机制。主动换能谐振器将在单管无线电(STAR)和射频前端滤波器中实现。这些系统演示需要在电路设计方面进行创新，以利用具有全新拓扑结构的谐振器中的有源换能器的优势。广泛的影响：本研究计划与针对K-12和本科生的教育和推广目标紧密结合，以提高对MEMS和电气工程的认识和理解。通过当地活动(例如，剑桥科学节和麻省理工学院女性技术计划)进行的MEMS实践演示将补充通过该计划开发的基于MEMS的无线电系统的基于网络的演示和教程。这项工作还将用于开发研究生/本科生的MEMS课程，将拟议的换能器和MEMS谐振器的基础介绍到课程中。

Proposal ECCS 1150071Project AbstractRF Micro Electro Mechanical (MEM) resonators, with quality factors (Q) often exceeding 10,000, have seen several success stories spanning communication, industrial, and automotive applications. Despite the maturity of the RF MEMS field, intimate integration with ICs has not been possible due to complexity and cost of integration and large disparity between sizes of MEMS devices and integrated circuit (IC) transistors. The proposed 5-year program exploring multi-GHz MEMS resonators using electromechanical transduction with IC transistors will help overcome these obstacles.Intellectual Merits:Fundamental innovation in resonator design using this transduction will enable scaled, monolithically integrated RF MEMS devices with performance rivaling their off-chip counterparts at previously unattainable frequencies. Active transduction mechanisms in MEMS resonators leveraging IC technology for high transducer efficiency with high-gain, high-fT transistors will be investigated. Actively transduced resonators will be implemented in a Single Transistor Radio (STaR) and RF front-end filters. These system demonstrations require innovation in circuit design to harness the benefits of active transducers in resonators with entirely new topologies.Broader Impacts:This research plan is merged cohesively with an education and outreach objective targeting K-12 and undergraduate students to increase awareness and understanding of MEMS and Electrical Engineering. Hands-on MEMS demonstrations through local events (e.g. Cambridge Science Festival and MIT Women's Technology Program) will supplement web-based demonstrations and tutorials of the MEMS-based radio systems developed through this program. This work will also serve in the development of a grad/undergrad MEMS course, introducing fundamentals of the proposed transducers and MEMS resonators into the curriculum.