| abstract |
MEMS in-plane resonators include a substrate wafer, at least one resonant mass supported by the substrate wafer and configured to resonate substantially in-plane, and at least one transducer coupled to the at least one resonant mass for at least one of driving and sensing in-plane movement of the at least one resonant mass, wherein at least part of one surface of the resonant mass is configured for exposure to an external environment and wherein the at least one transducer is isolated from the external environment. Such MEMS in-plane resonators may be fabricated using conventional surface micromachining techniques and high-volume wafer fabrication processes and may be configured for liquid applications (e.g., viscometry, densitometry, chemical/biological sensing), gas sensing (e.g., where a polymer film is added to the sensor surface, further degrading the damping performance), or other applications. |