Tunable quality factor through 1:1 modal coupling in a disk resonator

We have investigated the impact on the dynamics of MEMS resonators arising from coupling between independent modes. If the coupled mode has a higher Q or a lower Q than the driven mode, we find that the effective Q of the driven mode can be tuned over a wide range, which has important implications for inertial sensors and oscillators. In this paper, we report on two cases - one where the coupled mode has a high Q and one where the coupled mode has a low Q, and we demonstrate the ability to tune the effective Q of the drive mode. We use frequency sweep and ring-down methods to characterize these systems, and identify important distinguishing capabilities of these approaches.