Manufacture of hemispherical shell and surrounding eave-shaped electrodes

Abstract

A hemispherical resonator consists of a hemispherical shell and the surrounding circular electrodes. The asymmetry of a hemispherical shell has influence on the vibrating mode and quality factor. The gap distance from shell to electrode is critical for the capacitance and sensitivity of a hemispherical resonator. To realize a symmetric shell and a small gap, a kind of micro-hemispherical resonator (µHR) structure including sandwich-shaped stacks and eave-shaped electrodes has been developed using a glassblowing process. The blowing process could bring favorable surface roughness and symmetry. The locations of the hemispherical shell and surrounding electrodes can be precisely controlled by the designs of sandwich-shaped stacks and eave-shaped electrodes, making it feasible to realize uniform and small gaps. In addition, electrical insulation between the hemispherical shell and eave-shaped electrodes can be guaranteed owing to eave-shaped structure. The fabrication process and results are demonstrated in detail. Furthermore, an estimation method of shell thickness in a nondestructive manner is proposed, with deviation below 5%. Taking asymmetry, surface roughness, and gap into consideration, these results preliminarily indicate this structure with a hemispherical shell and surrounding eave-shaped electrodes is promising in hemispherical resonator applications.