Microgravity Generation Using Tilting Board for Resolution Evaluation of MEMS Accelerometer

Abstract

We describe microgravity generation and the resolution evaluation results of a sub-1-mG microelectromechanical system (MEMS) accelerometer (1 G = 9.8 m/s 2). To realize input acceleration below 1 mG, we show the principle of generating microgravity acceleration by adjusting the tilt angle. The change in acceleration induced by a tilting board is quantitatively analyzed, and the capacitance change of the MEMS accelerometer as a function of tilt angle is measured. The analytical results show that the tilting board has the potential to generate microgravity. The experimental results reveal that the sub-1-mG MEMS accelerometer can realize the detection of sub-1-mG-level acceleration.