Design and Vibration Analysis of Tri-axis Linear Vibratory MEMS Gyroscope

Abstract

In this study, the design of a tri-axis micromachined gyroscope is proposed and the vibration characteristic of the structure is analyzed. Tri-axis vibratory gyroscopes that utilize Coriolis effect are the most commonly used micromachined inertial sensors because of theiradvantages, such as low cost, small packaging size, and low power consumption. The proposed design is a single structure with fourproof masses, which are coupled to their adjacent ones. The coupling springs of the proof masses orthogonally transfer the driving vibra-tional motion. The resonant frequencies of the gyroscope are analyzed by finite element method (FEM) simulation. The suspension beam spring design of proof masses limits the resonance frequencies of four modes, viz., drive mode, pitch, roll and yaw sensing mode in the range of 110 Hz near 21 kHz, 21173 Hz, 21239 Hz, 21244 Hz, and 21280 Hz, respectively. The unwanted modes are separated from the drive and sense modes by more than 700 Hz. Thereafter the drive and the sense mode vibrations are calculated and simulated to confirm the driving feasibility and estimate the sensitivity of the gyroscope. The cross-axis sensitivities caused by driving motion are 1.5 deg/s for both x- and y-axis, and 0.2 deg/s for z-axis.