Thermo-Elastic Damping In MEMS Resonators- An Overview

Vol. 1 No. 2

Year: 2011

Issue: February-April

Title: Thermo-Elastic Damping In MEMS Resonators- An Overview 

Author Name: Vasu, Mr. Abhinav 

Synopsis: 

The catching trend of using MEMS (Micro-Electro Mechanical System) devices in several crucial applications has mediated the need of careful investigation into the mechanisms that affect the performance of these devices. Dissipation of energy through damping is one such aspect that is important in devices using vibrating structures. For high Q MEMS resonators that are operated in vacuum, Thermo-Elastic Damping (TED) is a fundamental & crucial dissipation mechanism. In the present contribution, a brief overview has been presented to provide an update on the historical evolution of this concept- starting from identification of this phenomenon to an important source of internal friction, development of the set of governing equations, to extending the theory to Non-Fourier heat conduction. Prominent effects of the design factors such as the operating frequency of the device, its shape & size, material etc. on the Thermo-elastic damping have been explored & presented here. Approach for minimizing such dissipation has also been suggested for improving the Q-factor of the devices.