A mechanically coupled MEMS filter with high-Q width extensional mode resonators

Abstract

This work presents a novel radio frequency (RF) narrowband Si micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) filter based on capacitively transduced slotted width extensional mode (WEM) resonators. The flexibility of the plate leads to multiple modes near the target frequency. The high Q-factor resonators of around 100 000 enable narrow bandwidth filters with small size and simplified design. The 1-wavelength and 2-wavelength WEMs were first developed as a pair of coupled modes to form a passband. To reduce bandwidth, two plates are coupled with a λ-length coupling beam. The 79.69 MHz coupled plate filter (CPF) achieved a narrow bandwidth of 8.8 kHz, corresponding to a tiny 0.011%. The CPF exhibits an impressive 34.84 dB stopband rejection and 7.82 dB insertion loss with near-zero passband ripple. In summary, the RF MEMS filter presented in this work shows promising potential for application in RF transceiver front-ends.