Design and simulation of a high-performance Z-axis SOI-MEMS accelerometer

Sharaf, Abdelhameed; Sedky, Sherif

doi:10.1007/s00542-012-1714-7

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…To the best of our knowledge, we found nine cases for comb-type devices that could be compared with similar outputs [2,4,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. However, out of these, one paper, Linxi et al [22] did not report 'k' and 'M' but did report f n which was utilized.…”

Section: Performance Comparison With the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

A new improved vertical comb type differential capacitive sensing micro accelerometer using silicon-on-insulator wafer technology

Dounkal¹,

Bhan²,

Kumar³

2020

J. Micromech. Microeng.

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A new and improved approach using vertical combs for the differential capacitive sensing of acceleration using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer technology is presented. The design, which supports a ± 30 g operational range demonstrates the enhanced linear range that is achievable using an SOI approach, which overcomes the limitations of the dissolved wafer process (DWP) technology based on the diffusion layer depth in silicon, used for the fabrication of MEMS accelerometers. Two technological approaches are compared, one having the same thicknesses of fixed and movable interdigitated fingers (DWP) and the other having different thicknesses, using an SOI wafer. A remarkable sensitivity improvement, by a factor of up to two, is achieved for the capacitance change per unit g (deltaC g−1) using the new differential SOI design presented here. The bandwidth of the device is also improved significantly in the SOI design, compared to the DWP design. Furthermore, the effect of temperature (−40 °C to 125 °C) has an almost negligible influence on (deltaC) due to the built-in differential concept of comb-type fingers compared to DWP technology. Cross-axis sensitivity is also very low due to the stable, robust design of the accelerometer offering less stiction sideways and better pull-in stability. Simple analytical relations for dynamically changing overlap capacitance are derived and presented. These analytical results are compared with simulations using Coventorware software and are in agreement to within 1.8% in a linear range of operation up to a tip deflection of 8.5 µm. The effects of fabrication tolerances, including all the process steps, on the sensitivity (deltaC g−1) and bandwidth (BW), are also studied and the results presented. An overall figure of merit (FOM) is included which is better in this study compared to the available literature. Furthermore, only two wafers are needed to fabricate the proposed differential capacitive sensors, compared to conventional push–pull three plate systems using three wafers. A separate deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) step on two different wafers offers better debris removal as compared to the interdigitated fingers cut by a single DRIE step.

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Section: Performance Comparison With the Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

A new improved vertical comb type differential capacitive sensing micro accelerometer using silicon-on-insulator wafer technology

Dounkal¹,

Bhan²,

Kumar³

2020

J. Micromech. Microeng.

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“…In [5]- [6] zaxis accelerometers with asymmetric vertical comb fingers are presented as valid solution to overcome limitations of parallel-plates based readout schemes. In [7], regular comb fingers are instead employed to measure the out-of-plane displacement of the proof mass induced by external acceleration in a non-differential way.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Sensitivity Mems Z-Axis Accelerometer with In-Plane Differential Readout

Zega

Gattere

Riani

et al. 2023

2023 IEEE 36th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

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This paper reports the innovative design and a preliminary experimental characterization of a miniaturized z-axis accelerometer. For the first time in a MEMS accelerometer, a motion conversion mechanism is implemented to allow an electrostatic readout based on in-plane comb fingers, thus overcoming the main limitations of out-of-plane parallel plate detection, e.g. nonlinearities, trade-off between sensitivity and full-scale range, pull-in, etc. The first prototype fabricated by exploiting the features of the Thelma-Double fabrication process shows an experimental sensitivity of 12.9 fF/g which agrees well with numerical predictions computed by considering nominal geometric dimension of the sensor.

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“…The mechanical spring is a key element in various micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) devices such as micro-actuators, inertial switches, accelerometers, and so on [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. In these devices, mechanical springs are designed for single or multi-axis motion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In these devices, mechanical springs are designed for single or multi-axis motion. Up to date, there are many types of springs introduced for applications in controlling in-plane motions [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. The springs can be designed for compliance to the linear movements in 𝑥 and 𝑦 axes [1-4, 7, 9, 12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archive of Mechanical Engineering

2022

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In this paper, a spring system symmetrically arranged around a circular plate compliant to out-of-plane oscillation is proposed. The spring system consists of single serpentine springs mutually coupled in a plane. Three theoretical mechanical models for evaluating the stiffness of the spring system are built, which are based on the flexural beam, Sigitta, and serpentine spring theories and equivalent mechanical spring structure models. The theoretically calculated results are in good agreement with numerical solutions using the finite element method, with errors less than 10% in the appropriate dimension ranges of the spring. Compared to similar spring structures without mechanical coupling, the proposed mechanically coupled spring shows advantage in suppressing the mode coupling.

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Design and simulation of a high-performance Z-axis SOI-MEMS accelerometer

Cited by 6 publications

References 9 publications

A new improved vertical comb type differential capacitive sensing micro accelerometer using silicon-on-insulator wafer technology

A new improved vertical comb type differential capacitive sensing micro accelerometer using silicon-on-insulator wafer technology

High Sensitivity Mems Z-Axis Accelerometer with In-Plane Differential Readout

Archive of Mechanical Engineering

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