Characterization of MEMS resonators via feedthrough de-embedding of harmonic and subharmonic pulsed-mode response

Abstract : In this paper, we model and give experimental evidence of the efficiency of pulsed-mode actuation for the characterization of capacitive MEMS resonators. In particular, we show how to process the pulsed-mode response in two modes (harmonic and subharmonic) so as to eliminate parasitic feedthrough effects and characterize the resonator more accurately. We test our approach on a pressure sensor, developed by THALES Avionics, used for avionics applications. In contrast to the existing state-of-the-art techniques, the methods described in this paper can be used to characterize electrostatic MEMS without the use of a spectrum analyzer or high-performance ADC.