Characterization of a mechanical motion amplifier
applied to a MEMS accelerometer
Characterization of a mechanical motion amplifier
applied to a MEMS accelerometer
In this paper, a mechanical amplification concept for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) physical sensors is proposed with the aim to improve their sensitivity. The scheme is implemented using a system of micromachined levers (microlevers) as a deflection amplifying mechanism. The effectiveness of the mechanism is demonstrated for a capacitive accelerometer. A proof-of-concept single-axis mechanically amplified accelerometer with an amplification factor of 40 has been designed, simulated, and fabricated, and results from its evaluation are presented in this paper. The sensor’s amplified output has a sensitivity of 2.39 V/g using an open-loop capacitive pick-off circuit based on charge amplifiers. Experimental results show that the addition of the mechanical amplifier does not alter the noise floor of the sensor. The measured natural frequency of the first mode of the sensor is at 734 Hz, and the full-scale measurement range is up to 7 g with a maximum nonlinearity of 2%. It is shown, through comparison with a conventional design, that the mechanically amplified accelerometer provides higher deflection without sacrificing bandwidth.
accelerometer, deflection amplification, mechanical amplification (M.A.), mechanically amplified accelerometer, micromachined levers (microlevers)
1-11
Zeimpekis, Ioannis
a2c354ec-3891-497c-adac-89b3a5d96af0
Sari, Ibrahim
cdcb1265-4a94-4c5a-b8b1-f1ca7e6759d7
Kraft, Michael
54927621-738f-4d40-af56-a027f686b59f
Zeimpekis, Ioannis
a2c354ec-3891-497c-adac-89b3a5d96af0
Sari, Ibrahim
cdcb1265-4a94-4c5a-b8b1-f1ca7e6759d7
Kraft, Michael
54927621-738f-4d40-af56-a027f686b59f
Zeimpekis, Ioannis, Sari, Ibrahim and Kraft, Michael
(2012)
Characterization of a mechanical motion amplifier
applied to a MEMS accelerometer.
Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, .
(doi:10.1109/JMEMS.2012.2196491).
(In Press)
Abstract
In this paper, a mechanical amplification concept for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) physical sensors is proposed with the aim to improve their sensitivity. The scheme is implemented using a system of micromachined levers (microlevers) as a deflection amplifying mechanism. The effectiveness of the mechanism is demonstrated for a capacitive accelerometer. A proof-of-concept single-axis mechanically amplified accelerometer with an amplification factor of 40 has been designed, simulated, and fabricated, and results from its evaluation are presented in this paper. The sensor’s amplified output has a sensitivity of 2.39 V/g using an open-loop capacitive pick-off circuit based on charge amplifiers. Experimental results show that the addition of the mechanical amplifier does not alter the noise floor of the sensor. The measured natural frequency of the first mode of the sensor is at 734 Hz, and the full-scale measurement range is up to 7 g with a maximum nonlinearity of 2%. It is shown, through comparison with a conventional design, that the mechanically amplified accelerometer provides higher deflection without sacrificing bandwidth.
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Accepted/In Press date: 1 April 2012
Keywords:
accelerometer, deflection amplification, mechanical amplification (M.A.), mechanically amplified accelerometer, micromachined levers (microlevers)
Organisations:
Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 338798
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/338798
ISSN: 1057-7157
PURE UUID: ad3714cb-786c-47c3-b52f-4e76d442d793
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Date deposited: 17 May 2012 10:42
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:38
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Author:
Ibrahim Sari
Author:
Michael Kraft
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