Improvement in Q-factor of AT-cut quartz crystal resonators using single walled carbon nanotubes

Use of higher operating frequencies and integration with VLSI circuits and MEMS are driving the need for smaller and thinner quartz crystal resonators (QCRs). Implicit in such scaling is the maintenance of Q-factor of the resonator necessary for achieving the required frequency stability. The intrinsic Q-factor of the resonator is inversely proportional to the resonance frequency, limiting the maximum Q that can be achieved. Recent research in this field has been directed towards increasing the Q-factor of these resonators, including reduction of surface roughness, decreasing support losses by reduction of resonator thickness, making resonator surface convex to increase energy trapping, etc. In this paper we report the first observation of the increase in the quality factor of an AT-cut quartz resonator through deposition of thin layers of single walled carbon nanotubes on its electrodes.