Ultra-Tuning of nonlinear drumhead MEMS resonators by Electro-Thermoelastic buckling

Nonlinear micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) resonators open new opportunities in sensing and signal manipulation compared to their linear counterparts by enabling frequency tuning increased bandwidth. Here, we design, fabricate study drumhead exhibiting strongly nonlinear dynamics develop a reduced order model (ROM) capture response accurately. The undergo electrostatically-mediated thermoelastic buckling, which tunes natural from 4.7 11.3 MHz, factor of 2.4× tunability. Moreover, the imposed buckling switches nonlinearity between purely stiffening, softening, even softening-to-stiffening. Accessing these exotic requires precise control temperature DC electrostatic forces near resonator’s critical-buckling point. To explain observed tunability, one-dimensional physics-based ROM that predicts fundamental bending mode resonators. captures dynamic effects internal stresses resulting three sources: residual fabrication process, mismatch thermal expansion constituent layers, lastly, applied forces. novel developed this article not only replicates tunability (within 5.5 % error) responses states critical but also provides insightful intuition on interplay among softening is invaluable for design similar devices. This remarkable large are valuable features on-chip acoustic devices broad applications such as manipulation, filtering, MEMS waveguides.