Inertial (Motion) Sensor

Micromachined inertial sensors consist of accelerometers and gyroscopes. These devices are
one of the important types of silicon-based MEMS sensors that have been successfully
commercialized. MEMS accelerometers alone have the second largest sales volume after
pressure sensors. Gyroscopes are expected to reach a comparable sales volume in the
foreseeable future. Accelerometers have been used in a wide range of applications, including
automotive application for safety systems, active suspension and stability control, biomedical
application for activity monitoring, and numerous consumer products, such as head-mount
displays, camcorders, three-dimensional mouse, etc.

High sensitivity accelerometers are crucial for implementing self-contained navigation and
guidance systems. A gyroscope is another type of inertial sensor that measures rate or angle of
rotation. The devices can be used along with accelerometers to provide heading information in
an inertial navigation system. Gyroscopes are also useful in such applications as automotive
ride stabilization and rollover detection, camcorder stabilization, virtual reality, etc.

Inertial sensors fabricated by micromachining technology can achieve reduced size, weight, and
cost, all which are critical for consumer applications. More importantly, these sensors can be
integrated with microelectronic circuits to achieve a functional microsystem with high
performance.

Accelerometer

An accelerometer generally consists of a proof mass suspended by compliant mechanical

suspensions anchored to a fixed frame. An external acceleration displaces the support frame
relative to the proof mass. The displacement can result in an internal stress change in the
suspension, which can be detected by piezoresistive sensors as a measure of the external
acceleration.

The displacement can also be detected as a capacitance change in capacitive accelerometers.

Capacitive sensors are attractive for various applications because they exhibit high sensitivity
and low temperature dependence, turn-on drift, power dissipation, and noise.

The sensors can also be readily integrated with CMOS electronics to perform advanced signal
processing for high system performance.

Capacitive accelerometers may be divided into two categories: vertical and lateral sensors.
Figure (1) shows sensor structures for the two versions.

In a vertical device, the proof mass is suspended above the substrate electrode by a small gap
typically on the order of a micrometer, forming a parallel-plate sense capacitance. The proof
mass moves in the direction perpendicular to the substrate (z-axis) upon a vertical input
acceleration, thus changing the gap and the capacitance value.
 Figure (1a, b) Schematics of vertical (a) and lateral (b) accelerometers

The lateral accelerometer consists of a number of movable fingers attached to the proof mass,
forming a sense capacitance with an array of fixed parallel fingers. The sensor proof mass
moves in a plane parallel to the substrate when subjected to a lateral input acceleration, thus
changing the overlap area of these fingers and, hence, the capacitance value.

Figure (2) shows an SEM top view of a surface micromachined polysilicon z-axis accelerometer.
The device consists of a 400μm×400μm proof mass with a thickness of 2μm suspended above
the substrate electrode by four folded beam suspensions with an air gap around 2μm, thus
achieving a sense capacitance of approximately 500 fF.

The visible holes are used to ensure complete removal of the sacrificial oxide underneath the
proof mass at the end of the fabrication process. The sensor can be interfaced with a
microelectronic charge amplifier, converting the capacitance value to an output voltage for
further signal processing and analysis.
 Figure (2) SEM micrograph of a polysilicon surface-micromachined z-axis accelerometer

Surface micromachined accelerometers typically suffer from severe mechanical thermal

vibration, commonly referred to as Brownian motion, due to the small proof mass, resulting in a
high mechanical noise floor that ultimately limits the sensor resolution.

Vacuum packaging can be employed to minimize this adverse effect, but with a penalty of
increasing system complexity and cost. Accelerometers using large proof masses fabricated by
bulk micromachining, or a combination of surface and bulk micromachining techniques are
attractive for circumventing this problem.

Figure (3) shows an SEM micrograph of an all-silicon z-axis accelerometer fabricated through a
single silicon wafer by using a combined surface and bulk micromachining process to obtain a
large proof mass with dimensions of approximately 2mm× 1mm× 450μm [8.15]. The large mass
suppresses the Brownian motion effect, achieving a high performance with a resolution on the
order of several μg.
 Figure (3) SEM micrograph of a MEMS z-axis accelerometerfabricated using
a combined surface and bulk micromachining technology.

A surface micromachined lateral accelerometer developed by Analog Devices Inc. is shown in

Figure (4). The sensor consists of a center proof mass supported by folded beam suspensions
with arrays of attached movable fingers, forming a sense capacitance with the fixed parallel
fingers.

Figure (4) SEM micrograph of a polysilicon surface-micromachined

lateral accelerometer (courtesy of Analog Devices Inc.)
The device is fabricated using a 6μmthick polysilicon structural layer with a small air gap on the
order of a micrometer to increase the sensor capacitance value, thus improving the device
resolution.

Figure (5) shows a close-up view of the finger structure for a typical lateral accelerometer. Each
movable finger forms differential capacitances with two adjacent fixed fingers. This sensing
capacitance configuration is attractive for interfacing with differential electronic detection
circuits to suppress common-mode noise and other undesirable signal coupling.

Figure (5) SEM micrograph of a capacitive sensing finger structure

Monolithic accelerometers with a three-axis sensing capability integrated with on-chip

electronic detection circuits have been realized using surfacing micromachining and CMOS
microelectronics fabrication technologies.

Figure (6) shows a photo of one of these microsystem chips, which has an area of 4mm× 4 mm.
One vertical accelerometer and two lateral accelerometers are placed at the chip center with
corresponding detection electronics along the periphery.
 Figure (6) Photo of a monolithic three-axis polysilicon surfacemicromachined
accelerometer with integrated interface and control electronics

A z-axis reference device, which is not movable, is used with the vertical sensor for electronic
interfacing. The prototype system achieves a sensing resolution on the order of 1mG with a 100
Hz bandwidth along each axis. The level of performance is adequate for automobile safety
activation systems, vehicle stability, active suspension control, and various consumer products.
Gyroscope

Most micromachined gyroscopes employ vibrating mechanical elements to sense rotations. The
sensors rely on the energy transfer between two vibration modes of a structure caused by
Coriolis acceleration. Figure (7) presents a schematic of a z-axis vibratory rate gyroscope. The
device consists of an oscillating mass electrostatically driven into resonance along the drive-
mode axis using comb fingers. An angular rotation along the vertical axis (z-axis) introduces a
Coriolis acceleration, which results in a structure deflection along the sense-mode axis, shown
in the figure.
 Figure (7) Schematic of a vibratory rate gyroscope

The deflection changes the differential sense capacitance value, which can be detected as a
measure of input angular rotation. A z-axis vibratory rate gyroscope operating on this principle
is fabricated using surface micromachining technology and integrated together with electronic
detection circuits, as illustrated in Figure (8).

Figure (8) Photo of a monolithic polysilicon surface-micromachined z-axis

vibratory gyroscope with integrated interface and control electronics
The micromachined sensor is fabricated using polysilicon structural material with a thickness
around 2μm and occupies an area of 1mm×1 mm. The sensor achieves a resolution of
approximately 10 s Hz Hz under a vacuum pressure around 50 motor.

A dual-axis gyroscope based on a rotational disk at its resonance can be used to sense angular
rotation along two lateral axes (x-axis and y-axis). Figure (9) shows a device schematic
demonstrating the operating principle. A rotor disk supported by four mechanical suspensions
can be driven into angular resonance along the z-axis.

An input angular rotation along the x-axis will generate a Coriolis acceleration, causing the disk
to rotate along the y-axis and vice versa. This Coriolis acceleration-induced rotation will change
the sensor capacitance values between the disk and the different sensing electrodes
underneath. The capacitance change can be detected and processed by electronic interface
circuits.

Figure (9) Schematic of a dual-axis gyroscope

Angular rotations along the two lateral axes can be measured simultaneously using this device
architecture. Figure (10) shows a photo of a dual-axis gyroscope fabricated using a 2μm-thick
polysilicon surface micromachining technology. As shown in the figure, curved electrostatic
drive combs are positioned along the circumference of the rotor dick to drive it into resonance
along the vertical axis.

The gyroscope exhibits a low random walk of 10 h under a vacuum pressure around60
motor. With accelerometers and gyroscopes, each capable of three-axis sensing, a
micromachine-based inertial measurement system providing a six-degree-of freedom sensing
capability can be realized.
 Figure (10) Photo of a polysilicon surface-micromachineddual-axis gyroscope

Figure (11) presents a photo of such a system containing a dualaxis gyroscope, a z-axis
gyroscope, and a three-axis accelerometer chip integrated with microelectronic circuitry. Due
to the precision in device layout and fabrication, the system can measure angular rotation and
acceleration without the need to align individual sensors.

Figure (11) Photo of a surface-micromachined inertial measurement system with a six-degree sensing capability