Wideband MEMS resonator using multifrequency excitation

We demonstrate the excitation of combination resonances of additive and subtractive types and their exploitations to realize a large bandwidth micro-machined resonator of large amplitude even at higher harmonic modes of vibrations. The investigation is conducted on a Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) clamped-clamped microbeam fabricated using polyimide as a structural layer coated with nickel from top and chromium and gold layers from bottom. The microbeam is excited by a two-source harmonic excitation, where the first frequency source is swept around the targeted resonance (first or third mode of vibration) while the second source frequency is kept fixed. We report for the first time a large bandwidth and large amplitude response near the higher order modes of vibration. Also, we show that by properly tuning the frequency and amplitude of the excitation force, the frequency bandwidth of the resonator is controlled.