Large frequency tuning of Lithium Niobate laterally vibrating MEMS resonators via electric boundary reconfiguration

Abstract

The paper presents a method for tuning the center frequency of Lithium Niobate (LN) laterally vibrating MEMS resonators (LVRs). This technique can be used to address the need for low-cost and miniature frequency-agile components of future programmable RF front-ends. The resonator center frequency is modified by changing the electrical boundary conditions imposed by the excitation electrodes. The underlying theory for the tuning mechanism is discussed and verified by experiments. The experimentally shown tuning range is 3%, which surpasses any demonstration of tuning for MEMS resonators. The predicted tuning range can be as high as 7%.