Research on the Key Process and Characteristics of Micro-machined Tunneling Gyroscope

目前正在研究和已开发的微机械陀螺仪大都采用电容检测方式，微小电容的检测能力却限制了微机械陀螺仪的检测精度。隧道效应所具有的高位移敏感特性正好解决了传统检测方式因器件尺寸减小而导致的灵敏度降低的缺陷。因此，隧道效应与微机械陀螺仪的结合为高精度微机械陀螺的发展开辟了新的空间。然而，要实现微机械隧道陀螺仪，必须解决隧尖的制备、悬臂梁的制作及微弱隧道电流检测等一系列关键技术问题，为此，本文围绕这几个关键技术问题开展了如下研究工作： 1）结合微机械陀螺仪和隧道效应的特点，提出了角振动隧道陀螺仪和线振动隧道陀螺仪两种新型设计方案。基于电磁学和弹性力学相关理论对静电驱动器、驱动梁及检测梁刚度的设计等问题进...While prior research on micro gyroscope has been mostly adopted the method of capacitive detection, the capability to measure small capacitance hinders the development of high sensitive micro gyroscope. With its high-displacement-sensitivity, tunneling effect meets the developmental requirements of high precision micro gyroscope fabrication. In addition, the deficiency of sensitivity reduction, wh...学位：工学博士院系专业：物理与机电工程学院机电工程系_测试计量技术及仪器学号：1992006015319

High-Performance Micromachined Vibratory Rate- and Rate-Integrating Gyroscopes.

We aim to reduce vibration sensitivity by developing gyros that operate in the balanced mode. The balanced mode creates zero net momentum and reduces energy loss through an anchor. The gyro can differentially cancel measurement errors from external vibration along both sensor axes. The vibration sensitivity of the balanced-mode gyroscope including structural imbalance from microfabrication reduces as the absolute difference between in-phase parasitic mode and operating mode frequencies increases. The parasitic sensing mode frequency is designed larger than the operating mode frequency to achieve both improved vibration insensitivity and shock resistivity. A single anchor is used to minimize thermoresidual stress change. We developed two gyroscope based on these design principles. The Balanced Oscillating Gyro (BOG) is a quad-mass tuning-fork rate gyroscope. The relationship between gyro design and modal characteristics is studied extensively using finite element method (FEM). The gyro is fabricated using the planar Si-on-glass (SOG) process with a device thickness of 100 micrometers. The BOG is evaluated using the first-generation analog interface circuitry. Under a frequency mismatch of 5Hz between driving and sense modes, the angle random walk (ARW) is measured to be 0.44deg/sec/sqrt(Hz). The Cylindrical Rate-Integrating Gyroscope (CING) operates in whole-angle mode. The gyro is completely axisymmetric and self-aligned to maximize mechanical isotropy. The gyro offers a large frequency ratio of ~1.7 between parasitic and the wineglass modes. The CING is fabricated using the 3D Si-on-glass (SOG) process with a device thickness of 300 micrometers. The 1st and 2nd generation CINGs operate at 18kHz and 3kHz, respectively and demonstrate a frequency mismatch of <1% and a large Q (~20,000 at 18kHz and ~100,000 at 3kHz under exact mode matching). In the rate-sensing mode, the first-generation CING (18kHz) demonstrates an Ag of 0.05, an angle random walk (ARW) of 7deg/sqrt(hr), and a bias stability of 72deg/hr without temperature compensation. In the rate-sensing mode, the second-generation CING measures an Ag of 0.0065, an ARW of 0.09deg/sqrt(hr), and a bias stability of 129deg/hr without temperature compensation. In the rate-integration mode, the second-generation CING demonstrates precession with an Ag of 0.011±0.001 under a frequency mismatch of 20~80mHz during several hours of operation.Ph.D.Electrical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91440/1/jycho_1.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91440/2/jycho_2.pd

Energy efficient control of electrostatically actuated MEMS

Plenty of Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS) devices are actuated using electrostatic forces, and specially, parallel-plate actuators are extensively used, due to the simplicity of their design. Nevertheless, parallel-plate actuators have some limitations due to the nonlinearity of the generated force. The dissertation analyzes the dynamics of the lumped electrostatically actuated nonlinear system, in order to obtain insight on its characteristics, define desired performance goals and implement a controller for energy efficient robustly stable actuation of MEMS resonators. In the first part of the dissertation, the modeling of the electromechanical lumped system is developed. From a complete distributed parameters model for MEMS devices which rely on electrostatic actuation, a concentrated parameters simplification is derived to be used for analysis and control design. Based on the model, energy analysis of the pull-in instability is performed. The classic approach is revisited to extend the results to models with a nonlinear springs. Analysis of the effect of dynamics is studied as an important factor for the stability of the system. From this study, the Resonant Pull-in Condition for parallel-plate electrostatically actuated MEMS resonators is defined and experimentally validated. Given the importance of the nonlinear dynamics and its richness in behaviors, Harmonic Balance is chosen as a tool to characterize the steady-state oscillation of the resonators. This characterization leads to the understanding of the key factors for large and stable oscillation of resonators. An important conclusion is reached, Harmonic Balance predicts that any oscillation amplitude is possible for any desired frequency if the appropriate voltage is applied to the resonator. And the energy consumption is dependent on this chosen oscillation frequency. Based on Harmonic Balance results, four main goals are defined for the control strategy: Stable oscillation with large amplitudes of motion; Robust oscillation independently of MEMS imperfections; Pure sinus-like oscillation for high-grade sensing; and Low energy consumption. The second part of the dissertation deals with the controller selection, design and verification. A survey of prior work on MEMS control confirms that existing control approaches cannot provide the desired performance. Consequently, a new three-stage controller is proposed to obtain the desired oscillation with the expected stability and energy efficiency. The controller has three different control loops. The first control loop includes a Robust controller designed using on µ-synthesis, to deal with MEMS resonators uncertainties. The second control loop includes an Internal-Model-Principle Resonant controller, to generate the desired control action to obtain the desired oscillation. And the third control loop handles the energy consumption minimization through an Extremum Seeking Controller, which selects the most efficient working frequency for the desired oscillation. The proposed controller is able to automatically generate the needed control voltage, as predicted by the Harmonic Balance analysis, to operate the parallel-plate electrostatically actuated MEMS resonator at the desired oscillation. Performance verification of stability, robustness, sinus-like oscillation and energy efficiency is carried out through simulation. Finally, the needed steps for a real implementation are analyzed. Independent two-sided actuation for full-range amplitude oscillation is introduced to overcome the limitations of one-sided actuation. And a modification of standard Electromechanical Amplitude Modulation is analyzed and validated for position feedback implementation. With these improvements, a MEMS resonator with the desired specifications for testing the proposed control is designed for fabrication. Based on this design, testing procedure is discussed as future work.Molts microsistemes (MEMS) són actuats amb forces electrostàtiques, i especialment, els actuadors electrostàtics de plaques paral.leles són molt usats, degut a la simplicitat del seu disseny. Tot i això, aquests actuadors tenen limitacions degut a la no-linealitat de les forces generades. La tesi analitza el sistema mecànic no-lineal actuat electrostàticament que forma el MEMS, per tal d'entendre'n les característiques, definir objectius de control de l'oscil.lació, i implementar un controlador robust, estable i eficient energèticament. A la primera part de la tesi es desenvolupa el modelat del sistema electromecànic complert. A partir de la formulació de paràmetres distribuïts aplicada a dispositius MEMS amb actuació electrostàtica, es deriva una formulació de paràmetres concentrats per a l'anàlisi i el disseny del control. Basat en aquest model, s'analitza energèticament la inestabilitat anomenada Pull-in, ampliant els resultats de l'enfocament clàssic al model amb motlles no-lineals. Dins de l'anàlisi, l'evolució dinàmica s'estudia per ser un factor important per a l'estabilitat. D'aquest estudi, la Resonant Pull-in Condition per a actuadors electrostàtics de plaques paral.leles es defineix i es valida experimentalment. Donada la importància de la dinàmica no-lineal del sistema i la seva riquesa de comportaments, s'utilitza Balanç d'Harmònics per tal de caracteritzar les oscil.lacions en estacionari. Aquesta caracterització permet entendre els factors claus per a obtenir oscil.lacions estables i d'amplitud elevada. El Balanç d'Harmònics dóna una conclusió important: qualsevol amplitud d'oscil.lació és possible per a qualsevol freqüència desitjada si s'aplica el voltatge adequat al ressonador. I el consum energètic associat a aquesta oscil.lació depèn de la freqüència triada. Llavors, basat en aquests resultats, quatre objectius es plantegen per a l'estratègia de control: oscil.lació estable amb amplituds elevades; robustesa de l'oscil.lació independentment de les imperfeccions dels MEMS; oscil.lació sinusoïdal sense harmònics per a aplicacions d'alta precisió; i baix consum energètic. La segona part de la tesi tracta la selecció, disseny i verificació dun controlador adequat per a aquests objectius. La revisió dels treballs existents en control de MEMS confirma que cap dels enfocaments actuals permet obtenir els objectius desitjats. En conseqüència, es proposa el disseny d'un nou controlador amb tres etapes per tal d'obtenir l'oscil.lació desitjada amb estabilitat i eficiència energètica. El controlador té tres llaços de control. Al primer llaç, un controlador robust dissenyat amb µ-síntesis gestiona les incertes es dels MEMS. El segon llaç inclou un controlador Ressonant, basat en el Principi del Model Intern, per a generar l'acció de control necessària per a obtenir l'oscil.lació desitjada. I el tercer llaç de control gestiona la minimització de l'energia consumida mitjançant un controlador basat en Extremum Seeking, el qual selecciona la freqüència de treball més eficient energèticament per a l'oscil.lació triada. El controlador proposat és capaç de generar automàticament el voltatge necessari, igual al previst pel Balanç d'Harmònics, per tal d'operar electrostàticament amb plaques paral.leles els ressonadors MEMS. Mitjançant simulació se'n verifica l'estabilitat, robustesa, inexistència d'harmònics i eficiència energètica de l'oscil.lació. Finalment, la implementació real és analitzada. En primer lloc, un nou esquema d'actuació per dos costats amb voltatges independents es proposa per aconseguir l'oscil.lació del ressonador en tot el rang d'amplituds. I en segon lloc, una modificació del sensat amb Modulació d'Amplitud Electromecànica s'utilitza per tancar el llaç de control de posició. Amb aquestes millores, un ressonador MEMS es dissenya per a ser fabricat i validar el control. Basat en aquest disseny, es proposa un procediment de test plantejat com a treball futur.Postprint (published version

Adaptively controlled MEMS triaxial angular rate sensor

Prohibitive cost and large size of conventional angular rate sensors have limited their use to large scale aeronautical applications. However, the emergence of MEMS technology in the last two decades has enabled angular rate sensors to be fabricated that are orders of magnitude smaller in size and in cost. The reduction in size and cost has subsequently encouraged new applications to emerge, but the accuracy and resolution of MEMS angular rate sensors will have to be greatly improved before they can be successfully utilised for such high end applications as inertial navigation. MEMS angular rate sensors consist of a vibratory structure with two main resonant modes and high Q factors. By means of an external excitation, the device is driven into a constant amplitude sinusoidal vibration in the first mode, normally at resonance. When the device is subject to an angular rate input, Coriolis acceleration causes a transfer of energy between the two modes and results in a sinusoidal motion in the second mode, whose amplitude is a measure of the input angular rate. Ideally the only coupling between the two modes is the Coriolis acceleration, however fabrication imperfections always result in some cross stiffness and cross damping effects between the two modes. Much of the previous research work has focussed on improving the physical structure through advanced fabrication techniques and structural design; however attention has been directed in recent years to the use of control strategies to compensate for these structural imperfections. The performance of the MEMS angular rate sensors is also hindered by the effects of time varying parameter values as well as noise sources such as thermal-mechanical noise and sensing circuitry noise. In this thesis, MEMS angular rate sensing literature is first reviewed to show the evolu- tion of MEMS angular rate sensing from the basic principles of open-loop operation to the use of complex control strategies designed to compensate for any fabrication imperfections and time-varying effects. Building on existing knowledge, a novel adaptively controlled MEMS triaxial angular rate sensor that uses a single vibrating mass is then presented. Ability to sense all three components of the angular rate vector with a single vibrating mass has advantages such as less energy usage, smaller wafer footprint, avoidance of any mechanical interference between multiple resonating masses and removal of the need for precise alignment of three separate devices. The adaptive controller makes real-time estimates of the triaxial angular rates as well as the device cross stiffness and cross damping terms. These estimates are then used to com- pensate for their effects on the vibrating mass, resulting in the mass being controlled to follow a predefined reference model trajectory. The estimates are updated using the error between the reference model trajectory and the mass&#039;s real trajectory. The reference model trajectory is designed to provide excitation to the system that is sufficiently rich to enable all parameter estimates to converge to their true values. Avenues for controller simplification and optimisation are investigated through system simulations. The triaxial controller is analysed for stability, averaged convergence rate and resolution. The convergence rate analysis is further utilised to determine the ideal adaptation gains for the system that minimises the unwanted oscillatory behaviour of the parameter estimates. A physical structure for the triaxial device along with the sensing and actuation means is synthesised. The device is realisable using MEMS fabrication techniques due to its planar nature and the use of conventional MEMS sensing and actuation elements. Independent actuation and sensing is achieved using a novel checkerboard electrode arrangement. The physical structure is refined using a design automation process which utilises finite element analysis (FEA) and design optimisation tools that adjust the design variables until suitable design requirements are met. Finally, processing steps are outlined for the fabrication of the device using a modified, commercially available polysilicon MEMS process

Large scale modeling, model reduction and control design for a real-time mechatronic system

Mechatronics is the synergistic integration of the techniques from mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and information technology, which influences each other mutually. As a multidisciplinary domain, mechatronics is more than mechanical or electronics, and the mechatronic systems are always composed of a number of subsystems with various controllers. From this point of view, a lot of such systems can be defined as large scale system. The key element of such systems is integration. Modeling of mechatronic system is a very important step in developing control design of such products, so as to simulate and analyze their dynamic responses for control design, making sure they would meet the desired requirements. The models of large scale systems are always resulted in complex form and high in dimension, making the computation for modeling, simulation and control design become very complicated, or even beyond the solutions provided by conventional engineering methods. Therefore, a simplified model obtained by using model order reduction technique, which can preserve the dominant physical parameters and reveal the performance limiting factor, is preferred. In this dissertation, the research have chosen the two-wheeled self-balancing scooter as the subject of the study in research on large scale mechatronic system, and efforts have been put on developing a completed mathematical modeling method based on a unified framework from varitional method for both mechanical subsystem and electrical subsystem in the scooter. In order to decrease the computation efforts in simulation and control design, Routh model reduction technique was chosen from various model reduction techniques so as to obtain a low dimensional model. Matlab simulation is used to predict the system response based on the simplified model and related control design. Furthermore, the final design parameters were applied in the physical system of two-wheeled self-balancing scooter to test the real performance so as to finish the design evaluation. Conclusion was made based on these results and further research directions can be predicte

Low-Power and Programmable Analog Circuitry for Wireless Sensors

Embedding networks of secure, wirelessly-connected sensors and actuators will help us to conscientiously manage our local and extended environments. One major challenge for this vision is to create networks of wireless sensor devices that provide maximal knowledge of their environment while using only the energy that is available within that environment. In this work, it is argued that the energy constraints in wireless sensor design are best addressed by incorporating analog signal processors. The low power-consumption of an analog signal processor allows persistent monitoring of multiple sensors while the device\u27s analog-to-digital converter, microcontroller, and transceiver are all in sleep mode. This dissertation describes the development of analog signal processing integrated circuits for wireless sensor networks. Specific technology problems that are addressed include reconfigurable processing architectures for low-power sensing applications, as well as the development of reprogrammable biasing for analog circuits

Low-Power and Programmable Analog Circuitry for Wireless Sensors

Embedding networks of secure, wirelessly-connected sensors and actuators will help us to conscientiously manage our local and extended environments. One major challenge for this vision is to create networks of wireless sensor devices that provide maximal knowledge of their environment while using only the energy that is available within that environment. In this work, it is argued that the energy constraints in wireless sensor design are best addressed by incorporating analog signal processors. The low power-consumption of an analog signal processor allows persistent monitoring of multiple sensors while the device\u27s analog-to-digital converter, microcontroller, and transceiver are all in sleep mode. This dissertation describes the development of analog signal processing integrated circuits for wireless sensor networks. Specific technology problems that are addressed include reconfigurable processing architectures for low-power sensing applications, as well as the development of reprogrammable biasing for analog circuits

Integrated interface electronics for capacitive MEMS inertial sensors

This thesis is composed of 13 publications and an overview of the research topic, which also summarizes the work. The research presented in this thesis concentrates on integrated circuits for the realization of interface electronics for capacitive MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) inertial sensors, i.e. accelerometers and gyroscopes. The research focuses on circuit techniques for capacitive detection and actuation and on high-voltage and clock generation within the sensor interface. Characteristics of capacitive accelerometers and gyroscopes and the electronic circuits for accessing the capacitive information in open- and closed-loop configurations are introduced in the thesis. One part of the experimental work, an accelerometer, is realized as a continuous-time closed-loop sensor, and is capable of achieving sub-micro-g resolution. The interface electronics is implemented in a 0.7-µm high-voltage technology. It consists of a force feedback loop, clock generation circuits, and a digitizer. Another part of the experimental work, an analog 2-axis gyroscope, is optimized not only for noise, but predominantly for low power consumption and a small chip area. The implementation includes a pseudo-continuous-time sense readout, analog continuous-time drive loop, phase-locked loop (PLL) for clock generation, and high-voltage circuits for electrostatic excitation and high-voltage detection. The interface is implemented in a 0.35-µm high-voltage technology within an active area of 2.5 mm². The gyroscope achieves a spot noise of 0.015 °/s/√H̅z̅ for the x-axis and 0.041 °/s/√H̅z̅ for the y-axis. Coherent demodulation and discrete-time signal processing are often an important part of the sensors and also typical examples that require clock signals. Thus, clock generation within the sensor interfaces is also reviewed. The related experimental work includes two integrated charge pump PLLs, which are optimized for compact realization but also considered with regard to their noise performance. Finally, this thesis discusses fully integrated high-voltage generation, which allows a higher electrostatic force and signal current in capacitive sensors. Open- and closed-loop Dickson charge pumps and high-voltage amplifiers have been realized fully on-chip, with the focus being on optimizing the chip area and on generating precise spurious free high-voltage signals up to 27 V