Fabrication and laser control of double-paddle silicon oscillators

We describe a fabrication technique for double-paddle oscillators based solely on wet etching, resulting in quality factors up to 8.10(5) at room temperature and in vacuum. The quality factor achieved is the highest demonstrated so far at room temperature. The fabrication procedure, not involving any dry etching step, represents a valid and low cost alternative to the other techniques previously presented. Laser excitation and resonance frequency tuning is shown to be applicable to these resonant structures and to be a useful alternative to mechanical and electrical excitation methods used so far, especially for applications in which a remote excitation system is required (e.g., in a high-temperature environment). (C) American Institute of Physics.