Temperature Dependence of Losses in Mechanical Resonator Fabricated via the Direct Bonding of Silicon Strips

The cooling of devices fabricated from single-crystal silicon to a temperature of 123 K at which its coefficient of thermal expansion passes through zero makes it possible to improve their stability and reduce noise. In the temperature range of 100–295 K, the temperature dependences of losses (attenuation) and changes in the resonance frequency of a tuning-fork mechanical resonator fabricated from silicon strips and joined by direct bonding are investigated. It allows the quality of the join to be controlled in a non-destructive way as well as to identify the features of the behavior and changes, which occur at the interface with time.