A micromachined angular-acceleration sensor for geophysical applications

Abstract

This paper presents an angular-acceleration sensor that works as either an angular accelerometer or a gravity gradiometer and is based on the micro electromechanical system (MEMS) technology. The changes in the angle of the sensor mass are sensed by a rotational capacitive array transducer that is formed by electrodes on both the stator and rotor dies of the flip-chip-bonded MEMS chip (21 mm × 12.5 mm × 1 mm). The prototype was characterized, demonstrating a fundamental frequency of 27 Hz, a quality factor of 230 in air, and a sensitivity of 6 mV/(rad/s2). The demonstrated noise floor was less than 0.003 rad/s2/Hz within a bandwidth of 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz, which is comparable with the conventional angular accelerometer and is better than the other reported MEMS sensors in low-frequency ranges. The features of small size and low cost suggest that this MEMS angular-acceleration sensor could be mounted on a drone, a satellite or even a Mars rover, and it is promising to be used for monitoring angular accelerations, aiding seismic recording, mapping gravity anomalies, and other geophysical applications for large-scale terrestrial and space deployments.