Non linear response and optimization of a new z-axis resonant micro-accelerometer

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) accelerometers are micro-sized devices largely used for detecting accelerations in the consumer and automotive market. Both capacitive and resonant sensing have been successfully employed in these devices. In the present work, the focus is on a z-axis resonant accelerometer recently proposed in [1] and fabricated with the Thelma (c) surface-micromachining technique developed by STMicroelectronics [2]. After a full non-linear dynamic study, two possible optimized designs are studied through an optimization procedure. The goal of the work is to find a novel design for the z-axis resonant accelerometer which meets the linearity and the reliability requirements for MEMS accelerometers whitout losses in terms of sensitivity. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.