Nonlinear dynamics study based on uncertainty analysis in electro-thermal excited MEMS resonant sensor

• The sample-based stochastic model is established to investigate the influence of Inherent heat elevation.
• Effects of uncertainty distributions of structure size and excitation voltage on vibrating nonlinearity are studied.

Nonlinear vibration model of double-clamped resonant beam driven by electro-thermal excitation in a MEMS resonant pressure sensor is established. Inherent heat elevation of electro-thermal excitation is taken into account besides the nonlinear geometric effect. An approximate solution for this model is obtained via Galérkin procedure and multiple scales method. The sample-based stochastic model is established to investigate the influence of inherent heat elevation on vibrating nonlinearity, including linear natural frequency frn, nonlinear frequency offset Foff, resonator amplitude Amp, and the non-linear factor Fnol, considering uncertainty distributions of structure size and excitation voltage due to fabricating or control errors. The results reveal that the dc bias of the excitation signal has significant effect on vibrating nonlinearity, which is verified by experiments. The results can be used as reference for sensor design and operation with respect to proposed nonlinear effects.