Measuring the mechanical resonance frequency and quality factor of MEM resonators with well-defined uncertainties using optical interferometric techniques

In this paper we will present a novel detection technique, based on heterodyne interferometers, from which we can accurately predict resonant-frequency and quality-factor uncertainties of mechanical resonators. We verified the technique on a rectangular bar resonator where we have measured resonance frequencies and the quality factor with relative uncertainties of plusmn0.005% and plusmn10%, respectively. Our technique is proven to 240 MHz, limited only by the bandwidth of the excitation signal, but should be scalable to 1.2 GHz.