A 0.35-μm CMOS-MEMS Oscillator for High-Resolution Distributed Mass Detection

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and electrical characterization of an electrostatically actuated and capacitive sensed 2-MHz plate resonator structure that exhibits a predicted mass sensitivity of ~250 pg·cm(−2)·Hz(−1). The resonator is embedded in a fully on-chip Pierce oscillator scheme, thus obtaining a quasi-digital output sensor with a short-term frequency stability of 1.2 Hz (0.63 ppm) in air conditions, corresponding to an equivalent mass noise floor as low as 300 pg·cm(−2). The monolithic CMOS-MEMS sensor device is fabricated using a commercial 0.35-μm 2-poly-4-metal complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process, thus featuring low cost, batch production, fast turnaround time, and an easy platform for prototyping distributed mass sensors with unprecedented mass resolution for this kind of devices.