Silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) micromechanical resonators with ultra-low dissipation

Abstract

Silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) are both promising materials in the quest for micromechanical resonators with ultra-low dissipation. Because of the legacy of the IC industry and ease of fabrication, silicon (Si) has been the prominent structural material for MEMS devices. However, from the perspective of dissipation, SiC and SiO2 may outperform Si: Akhiezer damping (AKE) in SiC and thermoelastic damping (TED) in SiO2 are greatly reduced comparatively to Si. The implementation of high-Q SiC and SiO2-based micromechanical resonators involves several challenges. This dissertation attempts to address those challenges to facilitate the deployment of high-performance resonant sensors made from SiC and SiO2 for high-performance applications in harsh environments.