Micrel, Incorporated

Discera, Inc.

Andrew Robert Brown

Wan-Thai Hsu

Kenneth R Cioffi

John Ryan Clark

Barry Dean Wissman

Graham Y Mostyn

Didier Lacroix

William Cochrane Ingle

Disclosed herein are MEMS resonator device designs and fabrication techniques that provide protection against electrostatic charge imbalances. In one aspect, a MEMS resonator device includes a substrate, an electrode including a first microstructure supported by the substrate, a resonant element including a second microstructure spaced from the first microstructure by a gap for resonant displacement of the second microstructure within the gap during operation, and a disabled shunt coupled to the electrode or the resonant element. The disabled shunt is disabled to enable the resonant displacement but otherwise configured to protect against damage from an electrostatic charge imbalance before the operation of the MEMS resonator device.

ESD protection for MEMS resonator devices

A method of configuring a device comprising a MEMS resonator includes initiating operation of the device, estimating a first parameter of the MEMS resonator based on the initiated operation, the first parameter not varying with the bias voltage, monitoring the operation of the device at a plurality of levels of the bias voltage, calculating a second parameter of the MEMS resonator based on the monitored operation, the second parameter varying with the bias voltage, determining an operational level of the bias voltage based on the estimated first parameter and the calculated second parameter, and configuring the device in accordance with the determined operational level of the bias voltage.

Bias voltage tuning of MEMS resonator operation point

A device has a resonator coupled to input and output nodes, the resonator being characterized by a transducer to drive the output node, and further characterized by a feedthrough capacitance such that portions of the input signal bypass the transducer to allow a spurious signal to reach the output node. The device includes a compensation capacitor coupled to the output node to define a compensation capacitance in accordance with the feedthrough capacitance. A phase inversion circuit is coupled to the compensation capacitance to generate a compensation signal and coupled to the output node such that the spurious signal is offset by the compensation signal. In some cases, a differential amplifier of the phase inversion circuit has the compensation capacitance in a feedback path to offset the feedthrough capacitance. In these and other cases, the compensation capacitance and the feedthrough capacitance may be unmatched to avoid overcompensation.

Feedthrough capacitance compensation for resonant devices

Disclosed herein are devices and methods for generating a modulated signal with a MEMS resonator, or microresonator. A bias, or polarization, voltage for activating the MEMS resonator is determined by a control signal, or input voltage, indicative of information to be carried by the modulated signal. In some cases, the MEMS resonator may be driven by an oscillator circuit to facilitate operation of the MEMS resonator. The control signal may include an amplitude modulated voltage or a digital data stream such that output signals of the MEMS resonator or oscillator circuit may carry information via frequency modulation, such as frequency shift keying modulation.

Growing community of inventors

Northville, MI, United States of America

Andrew Robert Brown