A Seismic-Grade Resonant MEMS Accelerometer

Author

Xudong Zou ; Thiruvenkatanathan, Pradyumna ; Seshia, Ashwin A.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Eng., Univ. of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Volume

23

Issue

4

fYear

2014

fDate

Aug. 2014

Firstpage

768

Lastpage

770

Abstract

We report on the characterization of a high-resolution micromachined resonant accelerometer fabricated in an SoI-microelectromechanical (MEMS) foundry process. A prototype device demonstrated scale factor of 142.8 Hz/m/s², dynamic range of >140 dB, and noise-limited resolution that is comparable with existing high-resolution macroscale seismometers. Experimental characterisation detailing the benchmarking of the MEMS prototype relative to an existing macroscale seismometer shows that the MEMS device tracks the passive ambient seismic response measured by a macroscale seismometer (Guralp systems CMG-3TD) over a measurement bandwidth extending from near dc (0.02 Hz) up to 100 Hz.

Keywords

accelerometers; elemental semiconductors; microfabrication; micromechanical resonators; microsensors; oceanographic techniques; seismometers; silicon; silicon-on-insulator; Guralp systems CMG-3TD; MEMS foundry process; SOI-microelectromechanical foundry process; Si; high-resolution macroscale seismometer; high-resolution micromachined resonant accelerometer; macroscale seismometer; noise-limited resolution; passive ambient seismic response measurement; seismic-grade resonant MEMS accelerometer; Accelerometers; Frequency measurement; Micromechanical devices; Noise; Resonant frequency; Seismic measurements; Sensors; Microelectromechanical accelerometers; resonant sensors; resonant sensors.; seismometers;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1057-7157

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JMEMS.2014.2319196

Filename

6813615