2010 International Conference on Mechanical and Electrical Technology (ICMET 2010)

DESIGN OF MEMS BASED CAPACITIVE ACCELEROMETER

T.K. SETHURAMALINGAM

Dr. A. VIMALAJULIET

Research Scholar, Dept. ofinstrumentation & Control

Head, Dept. ofinstrumentation & Control Engg.,

Engg. SRM University, Kattankulathur

SRM University, Kattankulathur

Tamilnadu ,India

Tamil Nadu, India

email: tksethuramalingam@[Link]

Abstract-

They

MEMS are the manufacturing of a wide variety of

items that are electronic and mechanical in nature. In addition

to sensors, small motors, pumps, hydraulic systems, warhead

and

indispensable

in

automobile

industry,

Micro machined

commercial potential. They provide lower power, compact

and robust sensing. Multiple sensors are often combined to

MEMS technology. The characteristics of MEMS fabrication

multiplicity,

became

accelerometers are a highly enabling technology with a huge

but a few of the devices that can be manufactured using

miniaturization,

603 203

computer and audio-video technology.

fuses, high resolution displays, mass data storage devices are

are

e-mail: vimlala@[Link]

provide multi-axis sensing and more accurate data.

microelectronics.

This model for the development and implementation of

MEMS based capacitive accelerometer. When selecting an

Miniaturization not only allows for small, lightweight devices,

but these same devices have high resonant frequencies which
microsensors and microactuators. An accelerometer measures

accelerometer, it is important to determine whether one is

trying to measure motion or vibration. whereas in vibration

proper acceleration, which is the acceleration it experiences

measurement, one is after the vibratory responses of the

relative to freefall, and is the acceleration that is felt by people

object under test, in motion measurement, one is interested in

the speed or the displacement of the rigid body. While using

mean

higher

operating

frequencies

and

bandwidths

for

and objects. Such accelerations are popularly measured in

terms of g-force. At any point in space time the equivalence

an accelerometer to measure motion accurately, it is to be

ensured that the measured acceleration data do not contain

principle guarantees the existence of a local inertial frame, and

an accelerometer measures the acceleration relative to that

any zero offset error. A very small amount of zero offset in

the acceleration output can lead to gross amount of velocity

frame. As a consequence an accelerometer at rest relative to

the Earth's surface will indicate approximately 1 g upwards,
because any

or displacement errors after numerical integrations. Since all

point on the earth's surface is accelerating

piezoelectric based accelerometers and other AC-coupled

upwards relative to the local inertial frame, which would be

designs will produce zero offset errors while trying to follow

a slow motion, they should not be considered for motion

the frame of a freely falling object at the surface. To obtain the

pure acceleration due to motion with respect to the Earth, this

measurements. The design process and simulation are done

using Intellisuite software. An accelerometer is an

"gravity offset" must be subtracted. This is generally true of

any gravitational field, since gravity does not produce proper

electromechanical device that will measure acceleration

forces. These forces may be static, like the constant force of

acceleration, and an accelerometer is not sensitive to it, and

cannot measure it directly. An accelerometer behaves as a

gravity pulling at your feet, or they could be dynamic -

damped mass on a spring. When the accelerometer experiences

caused by moving or vibrating the accelerometer. If an

accelerative force moves one of the structures, then the

acceleration, the mass is displaced to the point that the spring

is able to accelerate the mass at the same rate as the casing.

capacitance will change. Add some circuitry to convert from

capacitance to voltage, and you will get an accelerometer.

The displacement is then measured to give the acceleration.

There are many different ways to make an accelerometer.
Some accelerometers use the piezoelectric effect - they contain

II.

microscopic crystal structures that get stressed by accelerative

forces, which cause a voltage to be generated. Another way to

When miniaturizing any device or system, it is critical to

do it is by sensing changes in capacitance. Capacitive interfaces

have several

attractive features.

In most

have a good understanding of the scaling properties of the

micromachining

transduction mechanism, the overall design, the materials

technologies no or minimal additional processing is needed.

and

Capacitors can operate both as sensors and actuators. They

I.
most

applicable

978-1-4244-8102-6/10/$26.00 CO 2010 IEEE

involved.

The

scaling

than 1000 times smaller than their macroscopic counterpart),

our experience and intuition of macroscale phenomena and
designs will not transfer directly to the microscale.

INTRODUCTION

micro-electromechanical

processes

magnitude of the scaling involved (Le., MEMS can be more

microsensors,

MEMS accelerometers are one of the simplest but

also

fabrication

formidable barrier to adequate performance or economic

feasibility. Due to powerful scaling functions and the sheer

intrinsically insensitive to temperature.

MEMS,

the

properties of any one of these components could present a

have excellent sensitivity and the transduction mechanism is

Keywordsaccelerometer,
microactutor, micromachining

SCALING ADVANTAGES AND ISSUES

systems.

565

2010 International Conference on Mechanical and Electrical Technology (ICMET 2010)

III.

STRENGTH OF POLY SILICON FOR MEMS

DEVICES

The

safe,

secure

and

reliable

application

of

Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) devices requires

knowledge about the distribution in material and mechanical
properties of the small-scale structures. A new testing
program at Sandia is quantifying the strength distribution

Figure 2.

Mask layout of a comb structure capacitive accelerometer

using polysilicon samples that reflect the dimensions of

critical MEMS components. The strength of polysilicon
fabricated

at

Sandia's

Microelectronic

Development

Laboratory was successfully measured using samples 2.5

microns thick, 1.7 microns wide with lengths between 15 and
25 microns. These tensile specimens have a freely moving
hub on one end that anchors the sample to the silicon die and
allows free rotation. Each sample is loaded in uniaxial
tension by pulling laterally with a flat tipped diamond in a
computer-controlled Nanoindenter. The stress-strain curve is
calculated using the specimen cross section and gage length

Figure 3.

View of the capacitive accelerometer

dimensions verified by measuring against a standard in the

Polysilicon springs suspend the MEMS structure above

SEM. Fracture strength measurements grouped into three

the substrate such that the body of the sensor (also known as
the proof mass) can move in the X and Y axes. Acceleration

strength levels, which matched three observed failure modes.

The samples in the highest strength group failed in the gage

causes deflection of the proof mass from its centre position.

section, those in the moderate strength group failed at the

gage section fillet and those in the lowest strength group

Around the four sides of the square proof mass are 32 sets of
radial fingers. These fingers are positioned between plates

failed at a dimple in the hub. With this technique, mUltiple

tests can be programmed at one time and performed without

plates make up a differential capacitor, and the deflection of

that are fixed to the substrate. Each finger and pair of fixed

operator assistance at a rate of 20-30 per day allowing the

the proof mass is determined by measuring the differential

collection of significant populations of data. Since the new

capacitance.
The obtain mask layout is undergone with different

test geometry has been proven, the project is moving to test

the

distributions

seen

from

real

geometric

MEMS material analysis and finally the mask layout is

features

fabricated.

characteristic of MEMS, such as the effect of gage length,

fracture toughness, bonding between layers, etch holes,
dimples and shear of gear [Link] the Integrity of

TABLEr

the Specifications
Poly-Si

MEMS Technology

Finger cross sectIOn

vth slight squeeze film
damping

MEMS MATERIAL PROPERTY

Si3N4
Moyabie

Fixed

Rxed

Property

Value

STRESS

467.793

DENSITY

2.55

CTExp

16

PECVD
Units
MPa
g/cm3

Ar
Comments
avg
meas

10(7)1C

meas

YOUNG

300

GPa

meas

POISSON

0.27

const

meas

REFRJN

2.05

const

meas

The above table indicates the material property and the

analysis is obtained
Figure 1.

IV.

Poly - Si MEMS Design Technology

DESIGN AND ANALYSIS REPORT

The mask layout of a

accelerometer is given here.

comb

structure

capacitive

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2010 International Conference on Mechanical and Electrical Technology (ICMET 2010)

Figure 7.
Figure 4.

Design output of the comb structure capacitive accelerometer

MEMS-based accelerometer contains a small heater at

Material Property Analysis

the bottom of a very small dome, which heats the air inside
the dome to cause it to rise. A thermocouple on the dome

The designed mask is fabricated and the output is given

here.

determines where the heated air reaches the dome and the
deflection off the center is a measure of the acceleration
applied to the sensor. Most micromechanical accelerometers
operate in-plane, that is, they are designed to be sensitive
only to a direction in the plane of the die. By integrating two
devices perpendicularly on a single die a two-axis
accelerometer can be made. By adding an additional

plane

device

three

axes

can

be

measured.

out-of

Such

combination always has a much lower misalignment error

than three discrete models combined after packaging.
Micromechanical accelerometers are available in a wide
variety of measuring ranges, reaching up to thousands of g's.
The designer must make a compromise between sensitivity
and the maximum acceleration that can be measured.

V.

Figure 5.

There are many applications where the test articles are no

Fabricated Design of a Comb Structure Capacitive

Accelerometer

bigger than a tennis ball. Making shock and vibration

measurements under such conditions require sensors with
unique physical characteristics. Accelerometer selection
considerations in this application are:

The fabricated comb structure capacitive accelerometer is

undergone

for

thermoelectromechanical

analysis

MEASURING VIBRATION ON OBJECTS

at

Mass-Loading Effect - Mass-loading effect can change

the dynamic responses of the measurement. Size and weight

displacement on y axis and the output is given here

of the accelerometer must not be out of proportion with the

test article. The rule-of-thumb is not to exceed 10: 1. There
are PE, ISOTRON and PR accelerometer models that are
very small and lightweight (as low as 0. 14 gm) which help
minimize mass-loading problems.
Mounting Method - Drilling threaded holes for stud
mount type sensors in a small test article is impractical.
Adhesive mounting is the only logical method. Adhesive
mounting/removal

instructions

should

be

followed

religiously to prevent damage to the accelerometer body.

Surface curvature - Care should be taken to provide a
flat
Figure 6.

surface

for

manufacturing

Thermoelectromechanical analysis on displacement at y axis

the

special

accelerometer. This
mounting

curvature of the lower surface.

The final design output of the comb structure capacitive
accelerometer is given here

567

blocks

might
with

require
matched

2010 International Conference on Mechanical and Electrical Technology (ICMET 2010)

Resonance

Small

structures

usually

have

Sensors and Actuators Workshop, Hilton Head Island, SC,June 1990,

high

pp. 153-156.

frequency modes. Accelerometers with higher resonance

(>50 kHz) may be required.

[3]

K. Warren, "Navigation grade silicon accelerometer with sacrificially

etched SIMOX and BESOI structure," in Tech. Dig. Solid-State
Sensors and Actuators Workshop, Hilton Head Island, SC,June 1994,
pp. 69-72.

[4]

N. Yazdi and K. Najafi, "An all-silicon single-wafer micro-g

accelerometer with a combined surface and bulk micromachining
process," J. [Link]., vol. 9,pp. 544-550,Dec. 2000.

[5]

J. Bernstein, R. Miller,W Kelley, and P Ward, "Low-noise MEMS

vibration sensor for geophysical applications," J. Microelectromech.
Syst., vol. 8,pp. 433-438,Dec. 1999.

[6]

T. V. Roszhart, H. Jerman, J. Drake, and C. de Cotiis, "An inertial

grade micromachined vibrating beam accelerometer," in Tech. Dig.

Cable - When the test structure is very small and

lightweight, even the stiffuess of the cable can affect the
dynamic responses. Small-gauge, flexible cable should be
used in these situations.
BUILDING & STRUCTURAL MONITORING

VI.

Accelerometers are used to measure the motion and

vibration of a structure that is exposed to dynamic loads.
Dynamic loads originate from a variety of sources including:

8th [Link] on Solid-State Sensors and Actuators (Transducers '95),

Stockholm, Sweden,June 1995,pp. 65!H558.

Human activities - walking, running, dancing or

skipping

[7]

C. Liu, A. M. Brazilai, J. K. Reynolds, A. Partridge, T. W Kenny, J.

D. Grade, and K. Rockstad, "Characterization of a high-sensitivity
micromachined tunneling accelerometer with micro-g resolution," J.
Microelectromech. Syst., vol. 2,pp. 235-244, June 1998.

[8]

T. B. Gabrielson, "Mechanical-thermal noise in micromachined

acoustic and vibration sensors," IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol.
ED-40,no. 5,pp. 903-909,May 1993.

[9]

N. Yazdi, A. Salian, and K. Najafi, "A high sensitivity capacitive

microaccelerometer with a folded-electrode structure," in Proc. 1999

Working machines - inside a building or in the

surrounding area

Construction

work

driving

piles,

demolition,

drilling and excavating

Moving loads on bridges

Vehicle collisions

Impact loads - falling debris

Concussion loads - internal and external explosions

Collapse of structural elements

Wind loads and wind gusts

Air blast pressure

Loss of support because of ground failure

Earthquakes and aftershocks

IEEE Conf

[II] L. Ngo, P. Nelson, and C. J. Kim, "Surface-micromachined beams

without spring effect of anchor step-up," in Tech. Dig. of 1996 Solid
State Sensors & Actuators Workshop, Hilton Head Island, SC, June
1996,pp. 140-143.

Measuring and recording how a structure responds to

[12]

[14] M. Pederson,W. Olthuis, and P. Bergveld, "On the electromechanical

behavior of thin perforated backplates in silicon condenser
microphone," in Tech. 8th Int. Coni on Solid-State Sensors and
Actuators (Transducers '95), Stockholm, Sweden, June 1995, pp. 1316.

CONCLUSION

MEMS accelerometers are inertial sensing devices that

address the high performance, low power, integrated
functionality, and small size requirements in countless
applications. Intelligent sensor accelerometers offer further

[Link]. This author was born in Tamil Nadu,India,in 1981

and received the [Link]. degree from the Manonmaniam Sundaranar

University, India, in 2001. Further he received his [Link] . .
and [Link] degrees from Bharathidasan University, India,
in 2003 and 2005. He has been teaching at Mohamed
Sathak college of Arts & Science, Chennai, India since
2003. He is currently doing his Ph. D under the guidance
of Dr. A. Vimala Juliet. He visited foreign countries and
presented his research publications. He is a Member in
IEEE, ISSS, IACSIT.
His research interests and
publications have been in the areas of VLSI design, Signal & Image
processing, communication electronics and MEMS.

integration and improved performance including application

targeted functionality, comprehensive factory calibration that
costs

and

programmable

production

interface

test

that

time,

ensures

and

highly

simple
precise

integration that is simple to implement. Standardization of

production, testing and packaging MEMS would certainly do
a

big

part

at

it.

The

relatively

long

and

expensive

development cycle for a MEMS component is a hurdle that

needs

to

be

lowered

and

also

less

expensive

micro

A. Vimala Juliet. This author was born in Chennai,

India, in 1969. She received the B.E degree from the
Bharathiar University, India, in 1992 and acquired her
M.E. and Ph.D. degrees from Anna University, India, in
1994 and 2005 respectively. Dr. A. Vimala Juliet has
been teaching at SRM University, India since 1995. She
has been a senior member of ISA since 1999. In 2006,
she was promoted Professor and Head of the
Instrumentation and Control Engineering Department of SRM University.
She visited UC Davis, USA under SAP programme during October 2008.
Her research interests and publications have been in the areas of Sensors,
Virtual Instrumentation,MEMS and Control systems.

fabrication method than photolithography has to be pursued.

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W. Henrion, L. DiSanza, M. Ip, S. Terry, and H. Jerman, " Wide

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Monitoring.

saves

(MEMS'99),

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these inputs is critical for assessing the safety and viability of

a structure. This type of monitoring is called Dynamic

VII.

on MicroElectroMechanical Systems

Orlando,FL,Jan. 1999, pp. 600-605.

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