Ultra-miniature fundamental-mode UHF quartz MEMS oscillator

Quartz MEMS resonators are attractive for use in oscillators for frequency control applications by virtue of their reduced cost, size, weight, and power (CSWaP), combined with the potential for integration with electronics. We present an ultra-miniature, oscillator (1 mm3 total volume) built with a thickness shear mode quartz resonating element integrated with a SiGe BiCMOS sustaining ASIC to achieve a fundamental-mode UHF operation of >800 MHz. This low-power (<25 mW) oscillator achieves excellent acceleration sensitivity (<10−9/g) without active vibration compensation and is suitable for high performance hand-held/portable applications. A new frequency trimming method using ion beam etching for enhanced manufacturability of the quartz MEMS oscillator is introduced.