prediction of gap asymmetry in differential micro accelerometers预测差距不对称微分微加速度计.pdfVIP

Sensors 2012, 12, 6857-6868; doi:10.3390/s120606857 OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /journal/sensors Article Prediction of Gap Asymmetry in Differential Micro Accelerometers Wu Zhou 1,*, Baili Li 2, Bei Peng 1, Wei Su 3 and Xiaoping He 3 1 School of Mechatronics Engineering, University of Electronic Technology and Science of China, Chengdu 611731, China; E-Mail: beipeng@ 2 School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China; E-Mail: blli62@263.net 3 Institute of Electronic Engineering, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, China; E-Mails: weisu@ (W.S.); hexpiee@263.net (X.H.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: zhouwu916@; Tel.: +86-28-6183-0598; Fax: +86-28-6183-0227. Received: 16 April 2012; in revised form: 13 May 2012 / Accepted: 22 May 2012 / Published: 25 May 2012 Abstract: Gap asymmetry in differential capacitors is the primary source of the zero bias output of force-balanced micro accelerometers. It is also used to evaluate the applicability of differential structures in MEMS manufacturing. Therefore, determining the asymmetry level has considerable significance for the design of MEMS devices. This paper proposes an experimental-theoretical method for predicting gap asymmetry in differential sensing capacitors of micro accelerometers. The method involves three processes: first, bi-directional measurement, which can sharply reduce the influence of the feedback circuit on bias output, is pro