A high-precision, wide-bandwidth micromachined tunneling accelerometer

Author

Liu, Cheng-Hsien ; Kenny, Thomas W.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Power Mech. Eng., Nat. Tsing Hua Univ., Hsinchu, Taiwan

Volume

10

Issue

3

fYear

2001

fDate

9/1/2001 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

425

Lastpage

433

Abstract

High-precision miniature accelerometers based on electron tunneling transducers have been successfully fabricated using bulk-silicon micromachining process. This process has been modified to reduce bi-metal effects and results in greatly-suppressed 1/f noise. A comprehensive system model and a robust controller based on mixed μ synthesis have also been developed to close the feedback loop, extend the bandwidth, and withstand accelerometer variations due to micromachining process variations. This accelerometer is a prototype intended for underwater acoustics applications and is designed to be packaged in an 8 cm³ sphere volume with a total mass of 8 grams. In this paper, we describe the accelerometer design, the feedback control design, and several performance enhancements of these micromachined tunneling accelerometers, which include a high resolution of 20 nano-g/√Hz and a 5 Hz-1.5 kHz bandwidth

Keywords

1/f noise; accelerometers; feedback; micromachining; microsensors; silicon; tunnelling; 1.5 kHz; 1/f noise suppression; 8 g; MEMS; Si; accelerometer design; bi-metal effects reduction; bulk Si micromachining process; electron tunneling transducers; feedback control design; feedback loop; high-precision micromachined accelerometer; micromachined tunneling accelerometer; mixed μ synthesis; robust controller; underwater acoustics applications; wide-bandwidth accelerometer; Accelerometers; Bandwidth; Control system synthesis; Electrons; Micromachining; Noise reduction; Noise robustness; Robust control; Transducers; Tunneling;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1057-7157

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/84.946800

Filename

946800