Effects of phase delay on synchronization in a nonlinear micromechanical oscillator

Phase feedback is commonly utilized to set up a MEMS oscillator. In most studies, the phase delay is fixed on /2 for a maximum oscillation amplitude. In this letter, we study the dynamics of synchronization in a nonlinear micromechanical oscillator operating on different phase delays. The analytical and experimental results show that the synchronization region shifts and the size of this region varies depending on the phase delay. The frequency stability of the self-sustained oscillator holds the best in the case of phase delay equal to /2 and can be further improved to the same level after synchronization. Our work reveals the effects of phase delay on synchronization and presents an easy-to-implement strategy for tuning the synchronization by controlling the phase delay of the oscillation feedback circuit in a nonlinear micromechanical oscillator.