title: Quantum limit of quality factor in silicon micro and nano mechanical resonators.
abstract: Micromechanical resonators are promising replacements for quartz crystals for timing and frequency references owing to potential for compactness, integrability with CMOS fabrication processes, low cost, and low power consumption. To be used in high performance reference application, resonators should obtain a high quality factor. The limit of the quality factor achieved by a resonator is set by the material properties, geometry and operating condition. Some recent resonators properly designed for exploiting bulk-acoustic resonance have been demonstrated to operate close to the quantum mechanical limit for the quality factor and frequency product (Q-f). Here, we describe the physics that gives rise to the quantum limit to the Q-f product, explain design strategies for minimizing other dissipation sources, and present new results from several different resonators that approach the limit.
authors.affiliation: Stanford University, Mechanical Engineering Department, 440 Escondido Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Shirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghaffari
authors.forename: Saurabh A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Chandorkar
authors.forename: Shasha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Eldwin J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Chae H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Vu
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Yushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Kenny