Parametrically Actuated Resonant Electric Field Microsensor in the Duffing Regime

This paper proposes a scheme featuring parametric actuation in the Duffing nonlinear regime to enhance the sensitivity of a mode-localized electric field micro sensor (MEFS). The concept is validated through experiments conducted in a system comprising two weakly coupled tuning fork resonators housed in a customized vacuum chamber. This scheme establishes ultra-weak dynamic coupling by parametrically modulating the stiffness of a coupled micro-resonator system, thereby enhancing the amplitude ratio (AR) sensitivity of the mode-localized MEFS. The test results demonstrate that the prototype MEFS based on this scheme achieves a sensitivity enhancement of 243 times compared to previous mode-localized sensors operating under mono-frequency actuation in the linear regime. This improvement advances the application of mode-localized MEFS devices significantly.