Characterization of a MEMS Accelerometer Considering Environmental Temperature Fluctuations

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of environmental temperature fluctuations on the performance of a MEMS accelerometer. The model, vibration equation, and calculation of the output of detection capacitance for the accelerometer are presented. The fluctuations in temperature are considered when evaluating the actual performance of the device. The analysis results show that temperature fluctuations have a great influence on the output of the accelerometer although it has little influence on the resonant frequency of sensing mode and the sensitivity of detection capacitance. The performance deviations under the effects of temperature fluctuations are calculated accurately, which provides a reference for the design of temperature compensation method and robust design for the accelerometer.

An Improved Difference Temperature Compensation Method for MEMS Resonant Accelerometers

“…Ideally, the frequency of the resonator is only sensitive to the external acceleration. However, the material of differential vibrating accelerometers, normally single crystalline silicon, is temperature dependent, causing the device to be sensitive to temperature as well [ 16 , 17 ]. Moreover, the temperature sensitivity of the two resonators in an accelerometer may be different due to process and fabrication tolerances.…”

Nonlinear dynamics under varying temperature conditions of the resonating beams of a differential resonant accelerometer

“…On the other side, it is proved that a variation of the external temperature causes a shift of the resonant frequency of the resonators because of the variation of the silicon properties (see [23][24][25]) and some possible solutions to such issue have been already published (see [26,27]). Lee et al [28], for example, developed an environment-resistant packaging technology to improve the temperature robustness of MEMS sensors, while Li et al [26] and Xiao et al [29] reduced the temperature drift through novel configurations.…”