Nondegenerate Parametric Resonance in Large Ensembles of Coupled Micromechanical Cantilevers with Varying Natural Frequencies

Published

December 28, 2018

Author(s)

Christopher B. Wallin, Roberto De Alba, Daron Westly, Glenn Holland, Scott Grutzik, Richard Rand, Alan Zehnder, Vladimir Aksyuk, Slava Krylov, Robert Ilic

Abstract

We investigate the collective dynamics and nondegenerate parametric resonance (NPR) of coplanar, interdigitated arrays of microcantilevers distinguished by their cantilevers having linearly expanding lengths and thus varying natural frequencies. Within a certain excitation frequency range, the resonators begin oscillating via NPR across the entire array consisting of 200 single-crystal silicon cantilevers. Tunable coupling generated from fringing electrostatic fields provides a mechanism to vary the scope of the NPR. Our experimental results are supported by a reduced-order model that reproduces the leading features of our data including the NPR band. The potential for tailoring the coupled response of suspended mechanical structures using NPR presents new possibilities in mass, force, and energy sensing applications, energy harvesting devices, and optomechanical systems.

Citation

Physical Review Letters

Volume

121

Issue

26-28

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.264301

Local Download

Keywords

MEMS, NEMS, Parametric Resonance, Nonlinear Coupled Oscillators

Citation

Wallin, C. , De Alba, R. , Westly, D. , Holland, G. , Grutzik, S. , Rand, R. , Zehnder, A. , Aksyuk, V. , Krylov, S. and Ilic, R. (2018), Nondegenerate Parametric Resonance in Large Ensembles of Coupled Micromechanical Cantilevers with Varying Natural Frequencies, Physical Review Letters, [online], https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.264301, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=926082 (Accessed October 8, 2025)