A micromachined comb-drive tuning fork rate gyroscope

Author

Bernstein, J. ; Cho, S. ; King, A.T. ; Kourepenis, A. ; Maciel, P. ; Weinberg, M.

Author_Institution

Charles Stark Draper Lab., Cambridge, MA, USA

fYear

1993

fDate

7-10 Feb 1993

Firstpage

143

Lastpage

148

Abstract

The development of single-crystal and polysilicon tuning fork gyroscopes of very small size and low cost using microfabrication technology is reported. These tuning fork gyroscopes are extremely rugged, inherently balanced, and easy to fabricate. For a 1-mm gyroscope, projected performance is 10 to 100°/hr for bias stability and for resolution in a 60-Hz bandwidth. To date, 5000°/hr in a 60 Hz bandwidth has been demonstrated. The principle of operation, projected and measured performance and fabrication of silicon, polysilicon, and nickel units and associated electronics and control issues are discussed

Keywords

electric sensing devices; electroforming; frequency response; gyroscopes; inertial navigation; micromechanical devices; vibrations; 60 Hz; Ni; Si; bias stability; control issues; electroformed; elemental semiconductor; frequency response; inertial guidance; low cost; microfabrication technology; micromachined comb-drive; operation; performance; polysilicon; rugged; sacrificial layer; single-crystal; tuning fork rate gyroscope; very small size; Actuators; Costs; Fabrication; Frequency; Gyroscopes; Laboratories; Nickel; Silicon; Springs; Vibrations;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, 1993, MEMS '93, Proceedings An Investigation of Micro Structures, Sensors, Actuators, Machines and Systems. IEEE.

Conference_Location

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Print_ISBN

0-7803-0957-X

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MEMSYS.1993.296932

Filename

296932