The present disclosure provides an aerosol sensing method. The aerosol sensing method includes steps of providing an entering process, providing a particle collecting process and providing a measuring process. The entering process is to allow an aerosol to enter a chamber of a thermal-piezoresistive oscillator-based aerosol sensor, and a thermal-piezoresistive resonator is disposed in the chamber. The particle collecting process is to allow particulate matters in the aerosol to land on at least one proof-mass of the thermal-piezoresistive resonator when the thermal-piezoresistive resonator is not driven. The measuring process is to use an electrical signal to drive the thermal-piezoresistive resonator and measure a resonant frequency of the thermal-piezoresistive resonator. The particle collecting process and the measuring process are operated in a repetitive cycle for measuring changes of the resonant frequency of the thermal-piezoresistive resonator to measure the particulate matters of the aerosol.

In a quartz crystal unit, the unit comprising a quartz crystal resonator having a base portion, and first and second tuning fork arms connected to the base portion, the base portion having a length less than 0.5 mm and greater than a spaced-apart distance between the first and second tuning fork arms, each of the first and second tuning fork arms having a width less than 0.1 mm and a length less than 1.56 mm, and a plurality of different widths including a first width and a second width greater than the first width, at least one groove being formed in at least one of opposite main surfaces of each of the first and second tuning fork arms so that a length of the at least one groove is within a range of 0.3 mm to 0.79 mm, the quartz crystal resonator being housed in a case, and a lid being connected to the case.

Disclosed are various embodiments of systems, devices and methods for generating electricity, transforming voltages and generating motion using one or more piezoelectric elements operably coupled to one or more non-piezoelectric resonating elements. In one embodiment, a non-piezoelectric resonating element is configured to oscillate and dissipate mechanical energy into a piezoelectric element, which converts a portion of such mechanical energy into electricity and therefore acts as a generator. In another embodiment, a piezoelectric element is configured to drive one or more mechanical elements operably coupled to the one or more non-piezoelectric resonating elements, and therefore acts as a motor. In still another embodiment, a piezoelectric element is operably coupled to a non-piezoelectric resonating element to form an electrical transformer. The mechanical properties of the non-piezoelectric resonating elements are typically selected to permit relatively high permissible stress and strain in comparison to the corresponding piezoelectric elements to which coupled or attached.

Embodiments of a tunable bandpass microelectromechanical (MEMS) filter are described. In one embodiment, such a filter includes a pair of arch beam microresonators, and a pair of voltage sources electrically coupled to apply a pair of adjustable voltage biases across respective ones of the pair of arch beam microresonators. The pair of voltage sources offer independent tuning of the bandwidth of the filter. Based on the structure and arrangement of the filter, it can be tunable by 125% or more by adjustment of the adjustable voltage bias. The filter also has a relatively low bandwidth distortion, can exhibit less than 2.5 dB passband ripple, and can exhibit sideband rejection in the range of at least 26 dB.

MEMS based sensors, particularly capacitive sensors, potentially can address critical considerations for users including accuracy, repeatability, long-term stability, ease of calibration, resistance to chemical and physical contaminants, size, packaging, and cost effectiveness. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to exploit MEMS processes that allow for manufacturability and integration of resonator elements into cavities within the MEMS sensor that are at low pressure allowing high quality factor resonators and absolute pressure sensors to be implemented. Embodiments of the invention provide capacitive sensors and MEMS elements that can be implemented directly above silicon CMOS electronics.

A nanoelectronic system comprised of n microelectromechanical or nanoelectromechanical devices arranged on a connection support to electrically connect the n devices, each device with an interaction area, at least one mechanical anchor and a first terminal, a second terminal and a third terminal, the relative arrangement of the first, second and third terminals, the anchor area and the interaction area being identical or similar for the n sensors, the first terminal of each device being intended to recover a signal emitted by each representative device of the interaction area state. At least part of the devices are arranged in such a way that the geometric location of the first terminal of one of the adjacent devices is identical to the geometric location of the first terminal of said other adjacent device, the first terminals being coincident.

A MEMS resonator system has a micromechanical resonant structure and an electronic processing circuit including a first resonant loop that excites a first vibrational mode of the structure and generates a first signal at a first resonance frequency. A compensation module compensates, as a function of a measurement of temperature variation, a first variation of the first resonance frequency caused by the temperature variation to generate a clock signal at a desired frequency that is stable relative to temperature. The electronic processing circuit further includes a second resonant loop, which excites a second vibrational mode of the structure and generates a second signal at a second resonance frequency. A temperature-sensing module receives the first and second signals and generates the measurement of temperature variation as a function of the first variation of the first resonance frequency and a second variation of the second resonance frequency caused by the temperature variation.

Switchable and/or tunable filters, methods of manufacture and design structures are disclosed herein. The method of forming the filters includes forming at least one piezoelectric filter structure comprising a plurality of electrodes formed to be in contact with at least one piezoelectric substrate. The method further includes forming a micro-electro-mechanical structure (MEMS) comprising a MEMS beam in which, upon actuation, the MEMS beam will turn on the at least one piezoelectric filter structure by interleaving electrodes in contact with the piezoelectric substrate or sandwiching the at least one piezoelectric substrate between the electrodes.

According to various embodiments, there is provided a micro-electromechanical resonator, including a substrate with a cavity therein; and a resonating structure suspended over the cavity, the resonating structure having a first end anchored to the substrate, wherein the resonating structure is configured to flex in a flexural mode along a width direction of the resonating structure, wherein the width direction is defined at least substantially perpendicular to a length direction of the resonating structure, wherein the length direction is defined from the first end to a second end of the resonating structure, wherein the second end opposes the first end.

Systems and methods to amplify the response of a MEMS micro-oscillator by driving the MEMS device at its electrical and mechanical resonance frequencies, simultaneously. This enhances the MEMS mechanical sensitivity to electrical excitation and increases the voltage across the MEMS capacitor. Moreover, using a combination of two input signals at different frequencies (beat signal) may be used to achieve double resonance in any MEMS device, even if its natural frequency is far from its electrical resonance.