Modeling and investigation on the performance of a novel MEMS inertial sensor with the actuators drived by Lorentz force

A novel MEMS inertial sensor with the actuators drived by Lorentz force for increasing the initial sensing capacitance is proposed. The model of the sensor system is established and the simulations are finished by using Matlab/Simulink. The mechanical noise, the displacement response, the fringe effect and the air damping under various initial capacitance distance are analyzed, respectively. The results show that the working rang of the novel MEMS accelerometer is 4 μ m~9 μ m, the static capacitance can reach to 25.17 pf for 4μm initial comb capacitance distance, the displacement sensitivity is 0.7 μm/g, and the displacement response time is less than 0.05s. The mechanical noise is reduced from 13.2 to 1.2 by etching damping slots in the sensing combs of the actuators.