The decisive factor

We make our resonators from thin dielectric films, typically the ceramic silicon nitride. A well-defined region in the film oscillates out-of-plane at ultrasound frequencies.

The pattern in the film isolates the oscillating region from the frame, preventing energy loss. In addition, tensile stress in the film dilutes the material’s dissipation.

In our unqiue designs, the geometric pattern, combined with the material stress, creates a “soft clamping” effect for the mechanical resonator – which suppresses mechanical loss by some two orders of magnitude compared to conventional membrane resonators.

This gives our resonators an enormous edge whenever high quality factor, low thermal noise, high force sensitivity, or long quantum coherence matters.