Noise Analysis and Noise-based Optimization for Resonant MEMS Structures

Abstract: This paper presents a detailed noise analysis and a noise-based optimization procedure for resonant MEMS structures. A design for high sensitivity of MEMS structures needs to take into account the noise shaping induced by damping phenomena at micro scale. The existing literature presents detailed models for the damping at microscale, but usually neglects them in the noise analysis process, assuming instead a white spectrum approximation for the mechano-thermal noise. The present work extends the implications of the complex gas-solid interaction into the field of noise analysis for mechanical sensors, and provides a semi-automatic procedure for behavioral macromodel extraction and sensor optimization with respect to signal-to-noise ratio.