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Auto-calibration of capacitive MEMS accelerometers based on pull-in voltage

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Abstract

This paper describes an electro-mechanical auto-calibration technique for use in capacitive MEMS accelerometers. Auto-calibration is achieved using the combined information derived from an initial measurement of the resonance frequency and the measurement of the pull-in voltages during device operation, with an estimation of process-induced variations in device dimensions from layout and deviations in material properties from the known nominal value. An experiment-based analytical model is used to compute the required electrostatic forces required to simulate external accelerations allowing the electro-mechanical calibration of the accelerometer. Measurements on fabricated devices confirm the validity of the proposed technique and electro-mechanical calibration is experimentally demonstrated.

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Correspondence to L. A. Rocha.

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Rocha, L.A., Dias, R.A., Cretu, E. et al. Auto-calibration of capacitive MEMS accelerometers based on pull-in voltage. Microsyst Technol 17, 429–436 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-011-1252-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-011-1252-8

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