On MEMS Accelerometer Classification and Selection

Abstract

The article examines various applicationfields of accelerometric sensors and shows that accelerometers are most widely used in the development of geo-steering systems operating onboard of mobile objects - aircraft, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), space technology, surface and underwater vessels, and land transport. A separate area is the use of accelerometers in the so-called underground geo-steering systems, which include inclinometer systems used in performing geophysical studies of wells, and downhole MWD systems operating directly during drilling operations. The known variants of the accelerometer classification according to a number of essential features are considered. It is shown that in recent years, MEMS accelerometers have been increasingly used, produced by means of integrated circuit manufacturing technologies, including the placement of both semiconductor elements and sensors themselves on a single substrate in the form of microelectromechanical system structures. As an addition to the known solutions, it is proposed to perform a step-by-step classification, on the basis of which a selection of a particular MEMS accelerometer will be carried out, the technical and operational characteristics of which will meet the requirements. The classification of MEMS accelerometers according to the primary requested parameters is proposed: the number of sensitivity axes of accelerometers in one housing, measurement ranges, output type (analog, digital and PWM), temperature range; misalignment. MEMS accelerometers are classified according to the secondary parameters requested: supply voltage, current consumption, housing, sensitivity, bandwidth, maximum permissible overload. A variant of automated selection of MEMS accelerometers is being considered, based on object-oriented software that includes appropriate databases and has an open architecture with the possibility of supplementing updated information.