Tunable piezoelectric micro-mechanical resonator

A piezoelectric resonator, comprising:

• a substrate;
• a first electrode carried by said substrate;
• a composite piezoelectric element carried by said first electrode, said composite piezoelectric element further comprising:
• an actuator element;
• a sensor element;
• and
• a passive element;
• a second electrode carried by said composite piezoelectric element;
• an excitation circuit operable to supply a control signal to said actuator element and operable to receive a feedback signal from said sensor element;
• and
• a tuning circuit operable to alter the electromechanical coupling of said passive element.

A tunable piezoelectric micro-mechanical resonator, comprising:

• a composite member, said composite member being comprised of:
• a piezoelectric actuator element;
• a piezoelectric sensor element;
• a piezoelectric passive element;
• and
• a substrate carrying said piezoelectric actuator element, said piezoelectric sensor element, and said piezoelectric passive element;
• an excitation circuit operable to induce a resonance at a frequency within said composite member and operable to receive a feedback signal from said composite member;
• and
• a tuning circuit connected to said piezoelectric passive element and operable to vary said frequency.

A method for controlling a resonator having composite member, said composite member having a substrate carrying a composite piezoelectric element, wherein said composite piezoelectric element includes an actuator element, a sensor element and a passive element, the method comprising:

• inducing a resonance within said composite member with said actuator element;
• detecting said resonance with said sensor element;
• and
• dynamically altering said resonance by altering the electromechanical coupling of said passive element.

A method for tuning a resonator operating at one of a plurality of frequency modes, said resonator being comprised of a composite member having a substrate carrying a piezoelectric element, said piezoelectric element including an actuator element, a sensor element and a passive element, the method comprising:

• inducing a vibration at a single frequency within said composite member with said actuator element;
• detecting said frequency with said sensor element;
• and
• dynamically adjusting said frequency with said passive element.