Vandemeer J.E., Kranz M.S., Fedder G.K.
Carnegie Mellon University, US
Keywords: inertial sensors., lumped-parameter modeling, nodal simulation
A circuit-level methodology for simulating micromachined inertial sensors based on a hierarchical representation of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is presented. In the NODAS methodology 2dal Design of Actuators and Sensors), microaccelerometers and microgyroscopes are designed as netlists of general-purpose micromechanical beams, plates, electrostatic gaps, joints, and anchors and evaluated using lumped-parameter behavioral models. The on-chip displacements and global position of each micromechanical element have been separated in the netlist, enabling application of translation and rotation of the chip while simultaneously providing access to on-chip displacements for position sensing and electrostatic actuation. Simulations of static displacements and modal frequencies of a cantilever beam, a crab-leg accelerometer, and a symmetric vibratory-rate gyroscope agree to within 2% o finite-element analysis when using the minimal number of elements. Simulation of a 16 kHz vibratory-rate gyroscope system with dual transresistance sense amplifiers illustrates the ability to perfomm systemlevel mixed-domain simulation.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: Technical Proceedings of the 1998 International Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Microsystems
Published: April 6, 1998
Pages: 540 - 545
Industry sector: Sensors, MEMS, Electronics
Topic: MEMS & NEMS Devices, Modeling & Applications
ISBN: 0-96661-35-0-3