CEA-Leti makes smallest MEMS gyroscope for navigation
The sensor has a footprint of 1.3 square millimeters and this was achieved by making use of a nano-resistive sensing.
To reach the small size the key parameters of bias instability an angular random walk needed to be improved by a couple of orders of magnitude compared to commercial MEMS gyroscopes.
CEA-Leti, in collaboration with Politecnico di Milano, reached these targets by demonstrating performance matching the best state of the art on ultra-miniaturized MEMS gyroscopes. The results were reported in a paper, “1.3 mm2 Nav-Grade NEMS-Based Gyroscope”, in the Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems.
“This improved performance must not come with a high cost so the device will be priced competitively in large-volume markets, such as the automotive and consumer markets,”
The gyroscopes do not exceed 2 square millitmeters per axis of measurement and are made using standard MEMS technology and wafer-level vacuum packaging, said Philippe Robert, MEMS business development manager at CEA-Leti, in a statement. The team also ensured the resonant frequency is greater than 25kHz to withstand conventional vibration environments.
The CEA-Leti and Politecnico di Milano NEMS-based gyroscope is compatible with standard MEMS foundries for high-volume markets such as the automotive industry. The team is working on 3-axis gyroscope co-integration.
“This architecture enables best-in-class MEMS gyroscopes in terms of overall performance, size and resonant frequency, and our breakthrough 1.3 square millimeter high-frequency device is already at the state-of-the-art performance in terms of noise, bias stability, scale range and bandwidth,” said Robert. “Several design and technology improvements are right now under investigation.”
Manufactured on CEA-Leti’s silicon pilot line, these gyroscopes can be co-integrated with high-performance 3-axis accelerometer and barometric-pressure sensors. Because it is compatible with most MEMS foundry processes, this technology could reach markets within two years, the research institute said.
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