MEMS Technology for Timing and Frequency Control

Clark T.C. Nguyen

Abstract:	An overview on the use of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technologies for timing and frequency control is presented. In particular, micromechanical RF filters and reference oscillators based on recently demonstrated vibrating on-chip micromechanical resonators with Q’s >10,000 at 1.5 GHz, are described as an attractive solution to the increasing count of RF components (e.g., filters) expected to be needed by future multi-band wireless devices. With Q’s this high in on-chip abundance, such devices might also enable a paradigm-shift in the design of timing and frequency control functions, where the advantages of high-Q are emphasized, rather than suppressed (e.g., due to size and cost reasons), resulting in enhanced robustness and power savings. With even more aggressive three-dimensional MEMS technologies, even higher on-chip Q’s have been achieved via chip-scale atomic physics packages, which so far have achieved Q’s >107 using atomic cells measuring only 10 mm3 in volume, consuming just 5 mW of power, all while still allowing Allan deviations down to 10-11 at one hour.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 37th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting August 29 - 31, 2005 Vancouver, Canada
Pages:	1 - 11
Cite this article:	Nguyen, Clark T.C., "MEMS Technology for Timing and Frequency Control," Proceedings of the 37th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting, Vancouver, Canada, August 2005, pp. 1-11.
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