Thermoelastic Damping in Micro-Electromechanical Resonators Ahmet Erbil School of Physics Georgia Institute of Technology High quality factors, small size and compatibility with IC integration are the major advantages of the silicon MEMS resonators over their counterparts. Extension of the frequency range of capacitive MEMS resonators into the low GHz regime requires high quality factor (Q) resonating structures with sub-100 nanometer gap spacings. Among the several loss mechanisms, the thermoelastic damping (TED) seems to be the most significant one in the cantilever type resonators. Thermoelastic damping is a result of heat flow down temperature gradients, which are produced by inhomogeneous compression and expansion of the oscillating beam. Here, we present the results of a finite element analysis (FEA) to establish the limitations imposed on the quality factor by the TED mechanism. The finite element methods can handle realistic device geometries without the simplifying assumptions made by the analytical methods. Therefore, it can play a major role in the development of complex MEMS devices for practical applications and scientific studies.