In-plane free vibration of a single-crystal silicon ring

In this paper the natural frequencies and the associated mode shapes of in-plane free vibration of a single-crystal silicon ring are analyzed. It is found that the Si(1 1 1) ring is two-dimensionally isotropic in the (1 1 1) plane for elastic constants but three-dimensionally anisotropic, while the Si(1 0 0) ring is fully anisotropic. Hamilton’s principle is used to derive the equations of vibration, which is a set of partial differential equations with coefficients being periodic in polar variable. Expressing the radial and tangential displacements in sinusoidal form with non-predetermined amplitudes, and through the integration with respect to the circumferential variable, the original governing equations in partial differential form can be converted into the amplitude equations in ordinary differential form. The exact expressions for frequencies and mode shapes are obtained. It is found that for Si(1 0 0) rings the frequencies of a pair of modes, which are equal for an isotropic ring, split due to the anisotropic effect only for the second in-plane vibration mode. The phenomena of frequency splitting and degenerate modes can be proved either based on the conservation of averaged mechanical energy or by the concept of crystallographic symmetry groups. When the single-crystal silicon is replaced by the polycrystalline silicon, which is isotropic in elastic constants, the derived equations for frequencies correctly predict the vanishing of the phenomenon of frequency splitting.