Formation of Side Electrode on Quartz MEMS-Based Double-Ended Tuning Fork Using Enhanced Lift-Off Process

This paper presents an enhanced lift-off process for forming side electrode on the quartz –based double-ended tuning fork (DETF) resonator. In the case of fabricating quartz-based DETF, electrode pattern design is an important issue. Taking advantage of the piezoelectricity effect, a simple surface electrode can excite the flexural motion of the DETF, however it suffers from the large motional resistance. Proposed lift-off process can pattern excitation electrode on the side wall without using special photolithograph equipments. Experimental results demonstrated that the motional resistance can be reduced by several times by forming side electrode using proposed process.