Analysis of MEMS mechanical spring for coupling multimodal micro resonators sensor

This paper introduces a new butterfly shaped mechanical spring used to couple an array of five micromechanical resonating mass balance sensors, which are been developed for advanced applications in detecting chemical and biological species. The sensors were fabricated using a 5 mu m SOI (silicon on insulator) wafer. The performance of the spring is analysed using finite element analysis (FEA) and compared with other potential designs. From the analysis the butterfly spring provides enhanced response amplitude along the excitation axis and a balanced displacement for sensitivity of mass detection. Additionally, the overall frequency bandwidth is easily controlled to suit the application. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.