Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based mechanical resonators and filters have shown promising characteristics in achieving high Q values and good stability. In this article, new designs for integrated circuit-compatible microelectromechanical intermediate frequency (IF) filters are introduced. These filters have been fabricated and tested, and experimental results are included in this work. One of the novel filters is composed of two-cantilever beam resonators coupled by a soft flexural-mode beam. Different configurations of these filters and their (RF) simulation and experimental responses are presented. One of the advantages of these filters is that the coupling elements can be added from more than one side in order to have elliptical responses. The authors also introduce a novel V-shape coupling element that is used to mechanically couple two clamped-clamped MEMS resonators laterally. The stiffness of the proposed V-shape coupling element is adjustable via changing the length of the V sidelines and/or the V conjunction angle to flatten the filter passband. A two-pole bandpass filter operating in the IF range is constructed using these coupling elements. A lumped modeling approach is presented for a fast and accurate filter design and optimization. Using finite element analysis, the validity and accuracy of the lumped model are investigated. The fabricated filters have center frequencies varying from 700 kHz to 1.7 MHz, with quality factors of 300-1500 when tested at ambient pressure. The experimental results are presented and compared with lumped and finite element simulation results. (c) 2006 American Vacuum Society.