Publications Details

Surface-micromachined 1MHz oscillator with low-noise Pierce configuration

Roessig, T.A.; Howe, R.T.; Pisano, A.P.; Smith, J.H.

A prototype high frequency tuning fork oscillator has been fabricated and tested in an integrated surface micromachining technology. The amplifier circuitry uses a capacitive current detection method, which offers superior noise performance over previous resistive methods. The prototype device has an output frequency of 1.022 MHz and exhibits a noise floor of {minus}88 dBc/Hz at a distance of 500 Hz from the carrier. The dominant source of frequency instability is the nonlinearity introduced by the use of parallel plate actuation.