Tri-axis convective accelerometer with closed-loop heat source

In this paper, we report the details and findings of a study on tri-axis convective accelerometer, which is designed with the closed-loop type heat source and thermal sensing hotwire elements. The closed-loopheat source enhances the convective flow to the central part where a hotwire is placed to measure the vertical component of acceleration. The simulation was conducted using numerical analysis, and the devicewas prototyped by additive manufacturing. The device, functioning as a tilt sensor and an accelerometer,was tested up to acceleration of 20 g. The experiments were successfully conducted and the experimental results agreed reasonably with those obtained by numerical analysis. The results demonstrated that the closed-loop heat source could reduce the cross effect between the acceleration components. The scalefactor and cross-sensitivity had the values of 0.26 micro�V/g and 1.2%, respectively. The cross-sensitivity andthe effects of heating power were also investigated in this study

Design of a tri-axial surface micromachined MEMS vibrating gyroscope

Gyroscopes are one of the next killer applications for the MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems) sensors industry. Many mature applications have already been developed and produced in limited volumes for the automotive, consumer, industrial, medical, and military markets. Plenty of high-volume applications, over 100 million per year, have been calling for low-cost gyroscopes. Bulk silicon is a promising candidate for low-cost gyroscopes due to its large scale availability and maturity of its manufacturing industry. Nevertheless, it is not suitable for a real monolithic IC integration and requires a dedicated packaging. New designs are supposed to eliminate the need for magnets and metal case package, and allow for a real monolithic MEMS-IC (Integrated Circuit) electronic system. In addition, a drastic cost reduction could be achieved by utilizing off-the-shelf plastic packaging with lead frames for the final assembly. The present paper puts forward the design of a novel tri-axial gyroscope based on rotating comb-drives acting as both capacitive sensors and actuators. The comb-drives are comprised of a single monolithic moving component (rotor) and fixed parts (stators). The former is made out of different concentrated masses connected by curved silicon beams in order to decouple the motion signals. The sensor was devised to be fabricated through the PolyMUMPs® process and it is intended for working in air in order to semplify the MEMS-IC monolithic integration

Phase differential angular rate sensor-concept and analysis

This paper proposes and analyzes a new differential phase angular rate (AR) sensor employing a vibrating beam mass structure that traces an elliptical path when subject to rotation due to Coriolis force. Two sensing elements are strategically located to sense a combination of drive and Coriolis vibration to create a phase differential representative of the input rotation rate. A general model is developed, describing the device operation. The main advantages of the phase detection scheme are explored, including removing the need to maintain constant drive amplitude, independence of sensing element gain factor, and advantageous response shapes. A ratio of device parameters is defined and shown to dictate the device response shape. This ratio can be varied to give an optimally linear phase difference output over a set input range, a high sensitivity around zero input rate, or a response shape not seen before, that can give maximum sensitivity around an offset from the zero-rate input. This may be exploited in an array configuration for a highly accurate device over a wide input range. A worked example shows how the developed equations can be used as design tools to achieve a desired response with low sensitivity to variation in device parameters

High-frequency tri-axial resonant gyroscopes

This dissertation reports on the design and implementation of a high-frequency, tri-axial capacitive resonant gyroscopes integrated on a single chip. The components that construct tri-axial rotation sensing consist of a yaw, a pitch and a roll device. The yaw-rate gyroscope has a wide bandwidth and a large full-scale range, and operates at a mode-matched condition with DC polarization voltage of 10V without frequency tuning requirement. The large bandwidth of 3kHz and expected full-scale range over 30,000˚/sec make the device exhibit fast rate response for rapid motion sensing application. For the pitch-and-roll rate sensing, an in-plane drive-mode and two orthogonal out-of-plane sense-modes are employed. The rotation-rate sensing from lateral axes is performed by mode-matching the in-plane drive-mode with out-of-plane sense-modes to detect Coriolis-force induced deflection of the resonant mass. To compensate process variations and thickness deviations in the employed silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates, large electrostatic frequency tunings of both the drive and sense modes are realized. A revised high aspect ratio combined polysilicon and silicon (HARPSS) process is developed to resolve the Coriolis response that exists toward out-of-plane direction while drive-mode exists on in-plane, and tune individual frequencies with minimal interference to unintended modes. To conclude and overcome the performance limitation, design optimization of high-frequency tri-axial gyroscopes is suggested. Q-factor enhancement through reduction of thermoelastic damping (TED) and optimizations of physical dimensions are suggested for the yaw disk gyroscope. For the pitch-and-roll gyroscope, scaling property of physical dimension and its subsequent performance enhancement are analyzed.Ph.D

Thin-Film AlN-on-Silicon Resonant Gyroscopes: Design, Fabrication, and Eigenmode Operation

Resonant MEMS gyroscopes have been rapidly adopted in various consumer, industrial, and automotive applications thanks to the significant improvements in their performance over the past decade. The current efforts in enhancing the performance of high-precision resonant gyroscopes are mainly focused on two seemingly contradictory metrics, larger bandwidth and lower noise level, to push the technology towards navigation applications. The key enabling factor for the realization of low-noise high-bandwidth resonant gyroscopes is the utilization of a strong electromechanical transducer at high frequencies. Thin-film piezoelectric-on-silicon technology provides a very efficient transduction mechanism suitable for implementation of bulk-mode resonant gyroscopes without the need for submicron capacitive gaps or large DC polarization voltages. More importantly, in-air operation of piezoelectric devices at moderate Q values allows for the cointegration of mode-matched gyroscopes and accelerometers on a common substrate for inertial measurement units. This work presents the design, fabrication, characterization, and method of mode matching of piezoelectric-on-silicon resonant gyroscopes. The degenerate in-plane flexural vibration mode shapes of the resonating structure are demonstrated to have a strong gyroscopic coupling as well as a large piezoelectric transduction coefficient. Eigenmode operation of resonant gyroscopes is introduced as the modal alignment technique for the piezoelectric devices independently of the transduction mechanism. Controlled displacement feedback is also employed as the frequency matching technique to accomplish complete mode matching of the piezoelectric gyroscopes.Ph.D

Sensing Movement: Microsensors for Body Motion Measurement

Recognition of body posture and motion is an important physiological function that can keep the body in balance. Man-made motion sensors have also been widely applied for a broad array of biomedical applications including diagnosis of balance disorders and evaluation of energy expenditure. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art sensing components utilized for body motion measurement. The anatomy and working principles of a natural body motion sensor, the human vestibular system, are first described. Various man-made inertial sensors are then elaborated based on their distinctive sensing mechanisms. In particular, both the conventional solid-state motion sensors and the emerging non solid-state motion sensors are depicted. With their lower cost and increased intelligence, man-made motion sensors are expected to play an increasingly important role in biomedical systems for basic research as well as clinical diagnostics

Design, Fabrication and Levitation Experiments of a Micromachined Electrostatically Suspended Six-Axis Accelerometer

A micromachined electrostatically suspended six-axis accelerometer, with a square plate as proof mass housed by a top stator and bottom stator, is presented. The device structure and related techniques concerning its operating principles, such as calculation of capacitances and electrostatic forces/moments, detection and levitation control of the proof mass, acceleration measurement, and structural parameters design, are described. Hybrid MEMS manufacturing techniques, including surface micromachining fabrication of thin film electrodes and interconnections, integration fabrication of thick nickel structures about 500 μm using UV-LIGA by successful removal of SU-8 photoresist mold, DRIE of silicon proof mass in thickness of 450 μm, microassembly and solder bonding, were employed to fabricate this prototype microdevice. A levitation experiment system for the fabricated microaccelerometer chip is introduced, and levitation results show that fast initial levitation within 10 ms and stable full suspension of the proof mass have been successfully demonstrated

MEMS Accelerometers

Micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) devices are widely used for inertia, pressure, and ultrasound sensing applications. Research on integrated MEMS technology has undergone extensive development driven by the requirements of a compact footprint, low cost, and increased functionality. Accelerometers are among the most widely used sensors implemented in MEMS technology. MEMS accelerometers are showing a growing presence in almost all industries ranging from automotive to medical. A traditional MEMS accelerometer employs a proof mass suspended to springs, which displaces in response to an external acceleration. A single proof mass can be used for one- or multi-axis sensing. A variety of transduction mechanisms have been used to detect the displacement. They include capacitive, piezoelectric, thermal, tunneling, and optical mechanisms. Capacitive accelerometers are widely used due to their DC measurement interface, thermal stability, reliability, and low cost. However, they are sensitive to electromagnetic field interferences and have poor performance for high-end applications (e.g., precise attitude control for the satellite). Over the past three decades, steady progress has been made in the area of optical accelerometers for high-performance and high-sensitivity applications but several challenges are still to be tackled by researchers and engineers to fully realize opto-mechanical accelerometers, such as chip-scale integration, scaling, low bandwidth, etc

Design, Fabrication and Characterization of MEMS Gyroscopes Based on Frequency Modulation

Conventional amplitude modulated (AM) open loop MEMS gyroscopes experience a significant performance trade-off between having a large bandwidth or high sensitivity. It is impossible to improve both metrics at the same time without increasing the mass of the gyroscope or introducing a closed loop (force feedback) system into the device design. Introducing a closed loop system or increasing the proof mass on the other hand will surge power consumption. Consequently, it is difficult to maintain consistently high performance while scaling down the device size. Furthermore, bias stability, bias repeatability, reliability, nonlinearity and other performance metrics remain primary concerns as designers look to expand MEMS gyroscopes into areas like space, military and navigation applications. Industries and academics carried out extensive research to address these limitations in conventional AM MEMS gyroscope design. This research primarily aims to improve MEMS gyroscope performance by integrating a frequency modulated (FM) readout system into the design using a cantilever beam and microplate design. The FM resonance sensing approach has been demonstrated to provide better performance than the traditional AM sensing method in similar applications (e.g., Atomic Force Microscope). The cantilever beam MEMS gyroscope is specifically designed to minimize error sources that corrupt the Coriolis signal such as operating temperature, vibration and packaging stress. Operating temperature imposes enormous challenges to gyroscope design, introducing a thermal noise and drift that degrades device performance. The cantilever beam mass gyroscope system is free on one side and can therefore minimize noise caused by both thermal effects and packaging stress. The cantilever beam design is also robust to vibrations (it can reject vibrations by sensing the orthogonally arranged secondary gyroscope) and minimizes cross-axis sensitivity. By alleviating the negative impacts of operating environment in MEMS gyroscope design, reliable, robust and high-performance angular rate measurements can be realized, leading to a wide range of applications including dynamic vehicle control, navigation/guidance systems, and IOT applications. The FM sensing approach was also investigated using a traditional crab-leg design. Tested under the same conditions, the crab-leg design provided a direct point of comparison for assessing the performance of the cantilever beam gyroscope. To verify the feasibility of the FM detection method, these gyroscopes were fabricated using commercially available MIDIS™ process (Teledyne Dalsa Inc.), which provides 2 μm capacitive gaps and 30 μm structural layer thickness. The process employs 12 masks and hermetically sealed (10mTorr) packaging to ensure a higher quality factor. The cantilever beam gyroscope is designed such that the driving and sensing mode resonant frequency is 40.8 KHz with 0.01% mismatch. Experimental results demonstrated that the natural frequency of the first two modes shift linearly with the angular speed and demonstrate high transducer sensitivity. Both the cantilever beam and crab-leg gyroscopes showed a linear dynamic range up to 1500 deg/s, which was limited by the experimental test setup. However, we also noted that the cantilever beam design has several advantages over traditional crab-leg devices, including simpler dynamics and control, bias stability and bias repeatability. Furthermore, the single-port sensing method implemented in this research improves the electronic performance and therefore enhances sensitivity by eliminating the need to measure vibrations via a secondary mode. The single-port detection mechanism could also simplify the IC architecture. Rate table characterization at both high (110 oC) and low (22 oC) temperatures showed minimal changes in sensitivity performance even in the absence of temperature compensation mechanism and active control, verifying the improved robustness of the design concept. Due to significant die area reduction, the cantilever design can feasibly address high-volume consumer market demand for low cost, and high-volume production using a silicon wafer for the structural part. The results of this work introduce and demonstrate a new paradigm in MEMS gyroscope design, where thermal and vibration rejection capability is achieved solely by the mechanical system, negating the need for active control and compensation strategies

Tier-scalable reconnaissance: the challenge of sensor optimization, sensor deployment, sensor fusion, and sensor interoperability

Robotic reconnaissance operations are called for in extreme environments, not only those such as space, including planetary atmospheres, surfaces, and subsurfaces, but also in potentially hazardous or inaccessible operational areas on Earth, such as mine fields, battlefield environments, enemy occupied territories, terrorist infiltrated environments, or areas that have been exposed to biochemical agents or radiation. Real time reconnaissance enables the identification and characterization of transient events. A fundamentally new mission concept for tier-scalable reconnaissance of operational areas, originated by Fink et al., is aimed at replacing the engineering and safety constrained mission designs of the past. The tier-scalable paradigm integrates multi-tier (orbit atmosphere surface/subsurface) and multi-agent (satellite UAV/blimp surface/subsurface sensing platforms) hierarchical mission architectures, introducing not only mission redundancy and safety, but also enabling and optimizing intelligent, less constrained, and distributed reconnaissance in real time. Given the mass, size, and power constraints faced by such a multi-platform approach, this is an ideal application scenario for a diverse set of MEMS sensors. To support such mission architectures, a high degree of operational autonomy is required. Essential elements of such operational autonomy are: (1) automatic mapping of an operational area from different vantage points (including vehicle health monitoring); (2) automatic feature extraction and target/region-of-interest identification within the mapped operational area; and (3) automatic target prioritization for close-up examination. These requirements imply the optimal deployment of MEMS sensors and sensor platforms, sensor fusion, and sensor interoperability