Readout of MEMS capacitive sensors beyond the condition of pull-in instability

The ongoing transition between micro and nano electromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS) based on capacitive sensing requires a solution to the problem of pull-in instability and, on the whole, to the relevance of the electrostatic readout forces with respect to other forces to be sensed (inertial, m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSensors and actuators. A. Physical. Vol. 167; no. 2; pp. 374 - 384
Main Authors Langfelder, G., Frizzi, T., Longoni, A., Tocchio, A., Manelli, D., Lasalandra, E.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 01.06.2011
Subjects
Capacitive sensors
Charge
Charge control
Electronics
Electrostatics
Inertial
Instability
MEMS accelerometers
Nanostructure
Sensors
Stability
MEMS accelerometers
Capacitive sensors
Charge control
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Summary:The ongoing transition between micro and nano electromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS) based on capacitive sensing requires a solution to the problem of pull-in instability and, on the whole, to the relevance of the electrostatic readout forces with respect to other forces to be sensed (inertial, magnetic,…). The paper analyzes the case of a differential accelerometer which is dimensioned to be subject to instability (i.e. with a negative equivalent stiffness), when combined with a constant voltage readout of ±1.8 V. A charge controlled readout principle, based on an electronic feedback loop, is presented. Its switching capacitor VLSI implementation, built in a CMOS 0.35 μm technology is used to demonstrate, through experimental results, that this approach is effective in the minimization of the electrostatic readout forces.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:0924-4247
1873-3069
DOI:10.1016/j.sna.2011.02.003