Frequency Tuning of Silicon Micromechanical Cantilevers by Laser Ablation

摘要

A theoretical model for frequency tuning of a cantilever is presented, both stiffness and mass effects have been considered. A cantilever was ablated at its fixed and free end using a Nd:YAG laser, a tuning resolution of 1 Hz was obtained. There was some disagreement between the theoretical values of -29 Hz (fixed end), 10 Hz (free end) and an actual experimental tuning of -19 Hz (fixed end), 3.5 Hz (free end). This has been attributed to the debris present around the ablation site. Consideration of this debris shows that there is a reduction in tuning of around 30% (fixed end) and 50% (free end) in the theoretical values.