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22 pages, 5923 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Electrostatic MEMS Roll-Pitch Rotation Rate Sensor with In-Plane Drive Mode

by Ahmed Khaled, Ahmed M. Salman, Nawaf S. Aljehani, Ibrahim F. Alzahem, Ridha S. Almikhlafi, Radwan M. Noor, Yasser M. Seddiq, Majed S. Alghamdi, Mostafa Soliman and Mohamed A. E. Mahmoud

Sensors 2022, 22(3), 702; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22030702 - 18 Jan 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3026

Abstract

In this paper, we presented a novel electrostatic Roll/Pitch MEMS gyroscope with in-plane drive mode and out-of-plane sense mode. The proposed structure is developed based on a tuning fork gyroscope with decoupled sense mass on each tine that control the sense out-of-plane frequency. [...] Read more.

In this paper, we presented a novel electrostatic Roll/Pitch MEMS gyroscope with in-plane drive mode and out-of-plane sense mode. The proposed structure is developed based on a tuning fork gyroscope with decoupled sense mass on each tine that control the sense out-of-plane frequency. A multi-height deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) fabrication process was utilized to achieve and enhance decoupling between the drive and sense modes. We presented our design methodology followed by an analytical and finite element (FEM) model. Our experimental results showed a good match between the analytical model and those obtained experimentally, from the drive and sense oscillation frequencies. Our characterization setup used a custom made application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for characterization and was able to achieve ARW of 0.2 deg/rt-h, a bias instability 5.5 deg/h, and scale factor non-linearity (SFNL) 156 ppm FS. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theory and Design of Vibration Sensing and Gyroscopic Systems)

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19 pages, 2132 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rapid Prototyping of Inertial MEMS Devices through Structural Optimization

by Daniele Giannini, Giacomo Bonaccorsi and Francesco Braghin

Sensors 2021, 21(15), 5064; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21155064 - 26 Jul 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1934

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a novel design and optimization environment for inertial MEMS devices based on a computationally efficient schematization of the structure at the a device level. This allows us to obtain a flexible and efficient design optimization tool, particularly useful [...] Read more.

In this paper, we propose a novel design and optimization environment for inertial MEMS devices based on a computationally efficient schematization of the structure at the a device level. This allows us to obtain a flexible and efficient design optimization tool, particularly useful for rapid device prototyping. The presented design environment—feMEMSlite—handles the parametric generation of the structure geometry, the simulation of its dynamic behavior, and a gradient-based layout optimization. The methodology addresses the design of general inertial MEMS devices employing suspended proof masses, in which the focus is typically on the dynamics associated with the first vibration modes. In particular, the proposed design tool is tested on a triaxial beating-heart MEMS gyroscope, an industrially relevant and adequately complex example. The sensor layout is schematized by treating the proof masses as rigid bodies, discretizing flexural springs by Timoshenko beam finite elements, and accounting for electrostatic softening effects by additional negative spring constants. The MEMS device is then optimized according to two possible formulations of the optimization problem, including typical design requirements from the MEMS industry, with particular focus on the tuning of the structural eigenfrequencies and on the maximization of the response to external angular rates. The validity of the proposed approach is then assessed through a comparison with full FEM schematizations: rapidly prototyped layouts at the device level show a good performance when simulated with more complex models and therefore require only minor adjustments to accomplish the subsequent physical-level design. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theory and Design of Vibration Sensing and Gyroscopic Systems)

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13 pages, 3772 KiB

Open AccessLetter

A 5.86 Million Quality Factor Cylindrical Resonator with Improved Structural Design Based on Thermoelastic Dissipation Analysis

by Libin Zeng, Yiming Luo, Yao Pan, Yonglei Jia, Jianping Liu, Zhongqi Tan, Kaiyong Yang and Hui Luo

Sensors 2020, 20(21), 6003; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20216003 - 22 Oct 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2397

Abstract

The cylindrical resonator is the core component of cylindrical resonator gyroscopes (CRGs). The quality factor (Q factor) of the resonator is one crucial parameter that determines the performance of the gyroscope. In this paper, the finite element method is used to theoretically investigate [...] Read more.

The cylindrical resonator is the core component of cylindrical resonator gyroscopes (CRGs). The quality factor (Q factor) of the resonator is one crucial parameter that determines the performance of the gyroscope. In this paper, the finite element method is used to theoretically investigate the influence of the thermoelastic dissipation (TED) of the cylindrical resonator. The improved structure of a fused silica cylindrical resonator is then demonstrated. Compared with the traditional structure, the thermoelastic Q (Q_TED) of the resonator is increased by 122%. In addition, the Q factor of the improved cylindrical resonator is measured, and results illustrate that, after annealing and chemical etching, the Q factor of the resonator is significantly higher than that of the cylindrical resonators reported previously. The Q factor of the cylindrical resonator in this paper reaches 5.86 million, which is the highest value for a cylindrical resonator to date. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theory and Design of Vibration Sensing and Gyroscopic Systems)

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