An Improved Difference Temperature Compensation Method for MEMS Resonant Accelerometers

Resonant accelerometers are promising because of their wide dynamic range and long-term stability. With quasi-digital frequency output, the outputs of resonant accelerometers are less vulnerable to the noise from circuits and ambience. Differential structure is usually adopted in a resonant accelerometer to achieve higher sensitivity to acceleration and to reduce common noise at the same time. Ideally, a resonant accelerometer is only sensitive to external acceleration. However, temperature has a great impact on resonant accelerometers, causing unexcepted frequency drift. In order to cancel out the frequency drift caused by temperature change, an improved temperature compensation method for differential vibrating accelerometers without additional temperature sensors is presented in this paper. Experiment results demonstrate that the temperature sensitivity of the prototype sensor is reduced from 43.16 ppm/°C to 0.83 ppm/°C within the temperature range of −10 °C to 70 °C using the proposed method.

An Ultrahigh-Sensitivity Graphene Resonant Gyroscope

In this study, a graphene beam was selected as a sensing element and used to form a graphene resonant gyroscope structure with direct frequency output and ultrahigh sensitivity. The structure of the graphene resonator gyroscope was simulated using the ANSYS finite element software, and the influence of the length, width, and thickness of the graphene resonant beam on the angular velocity sensitivity was studied. The simulation results show that the resonant frequency of the graphene resonant beam decreased with increasing the beam length and thickness, while the width had a negligible effect. The fundamental frequency of the designed graphene resonator gyroscope was more than 20 MHz, and the sensitivity of the angular velocity was able to reach 22,990 Hz/°/h. This work is of great significance for applications in environments that require high sensitivity to extremely weak angular velocity variation.

Impact-Based Amplification and Frequency Down-Conversion of Piezoelectric Actuation for Small Robotics

This paper explores a concept for dynamic amplification of piezoelectric actuator motion using repeated impacts between the active transducer and a compliant amplification mechanism. The design shows good performance in amplifying vibration of a lead–zirconate–titanate (PZT) bimorph while down-converting the output frequency of motion from more than 150 Hz to less than 20 Hz. A simple dynamic model is used to identify the conceptual opportunities for impact-based amplification of PZT displacement. Experimental results are gathered from a prototype system with dimensions 55 mm × 22 mm × 1 mm. PZT displacement is amplified by a factor of more than 100 with near-periodic output oscillations at select input frequencies. Implications for leveraging the low-frequency output oscillations in small mobile robots are briefly discussed.

STUDY OF A FREQUENCY OUTPUT TEMPERATURE SENSOR BASED ON A QUANTUM HETEROSTRUCTURE WITH A NEGATIVE DIFFERENTIAL RESISTANCE

Physical processes in a quantum two-barrier heterostructure, which is the basis for the development of tunnel-resonant diodes, are considered. These studies have shown that tunnel resonance diodes can be used as temperature sensors with a frequency output signal. The use of devices with negative differential resistance makes it possible to significantly simplify the design of temperature sensors in the entire radio frequency range, at which, depending on the operating modes of the sensor, an output signal can be obtained both in the form of harmonic oscillations and in the form of impulse oscillations of a special form. The study of the characteristics of the sensor is based on the equivalent circuit of the tunnel-resonant diode, which takes into account its capacitive and inductive properties. The current-voltage characteristic of the sensor has a falling section, which is responsible for the appearance of a negative differential resistance in this section. The descending section arises due to a decrease in the current that flows through the double-barrier quantum heterostructure, with an increase in voltage. A decrease in the current occurs due to a decrease in the transparency coefficient of the potential barriers of the heterostructure. A mathematical model of the temperature sensor has been developed, on the basis of which the analytical dependences of the change in the elements of the equivalent circuit of the sensor on temperature, as well as the transformation function and sensitivity, have been determined. It is shown that the main contribution to changes in the conversion function and sensor sensitivity is made by the change in the negative differential resistance with a change in temperature. This, in turn, results in different readings of the instrument’s output frequency. The sensor sensitivity was varied from 480 kHz/0С to 220 kHz/0С in the temperature range from -150 0С to 50 0С.