Title:  Electrostatic Frequency Modulation Resonant Accelerometers with Wide Dynamic Range

Committee: 

Dr. Ayazi, Advisor

Dr. Ansari, Chair

Dr. Degertekin

Abstract:

The objective of the proposed research is to design and implement resonant accelerometers for high-end applications which require high resolution, wide bandwidth, as well as wide dynamic range. These specifications are hard to be achieved by conventional capacitive quasi-static accelerometer or mechanical frequency modulation accelerometer because of a strong tradeoff relationship between specifications. To overcome these challenges, electrostatic frequency modulation (eFM) type acceleration sensing mechanism is presented. Two different types of eFM accelerometers are identified and their functionalities are demonstrated for different target specifications.