This paper proposes an electrostatic stiffness correction method for the quadrature error (QUER) in a decoupled dual-mass gyroscope structure. The QUER is caused by the imperfections during the structure manufacturing process, and the two masses usually have different QUERs. The harm contribution to the Coriolis signal is analyzed and quantified. The generating forms of QUER motion in both masses are analyzed, the correction electrodes' working principle is introduced, and a single mass individual correction method is proposed. The QUER stiffness correction system is designed based on a PI controller, and the experiments are arranged to verify the theoretical analysis. The bias stability decreases from 2.06 to 0.64 deg ∕h after the QUER correction, and the parameters of scale factor such as nonlinearly, asymmetry, and repeatability, reduce from 143, 557, and 210 ppm to 84, 242, and 175 ppm, respectively.

Frequency tuning of work modes in the silicon vibratory gyroscope is studied by the theoretical, numerical, and experimental methods in this paper. First, the schematic structure and simplified kinematics model of the gyroscope were presented for deducing the natural frequencies. Then, the width and length of support beams were optimized to tune work frequencies at their designed value. Besides, the frequency difference was experimentally tested and manually tuned by varying the voltage applied on the tuning capacitors. The test on a prototype showed that the difference could be localized between −55.8 Hz and 160.2 Hz when the tuning voltage limit is 20 V. Finally, a frequency control loop was developed to automatically tune the sense frequency toward the drive frequency. Both the theoretical analysis and numeric simulation show that the difference is stabilized at 0.8 Hz when no Coriolis force or quadrature coupling force is applied. It is proved that the frequency difference is successfully tuned by modifying the size of support beams before fabrication as well as the voltage applied on the tuning capacitors after fabrication. The automatic tuning loop, used to match the work modes, is beneficial to enhance the performance of the gyroscope as well as its resistance to environment disturbances.

The bandwidth characteristics of a tuning fork micro-gyroscope with mechanically coupled sense mode were investigated in this paper to provide some references for mechanical bandwidth design. The concept of sense mode mechanical coupling is introduced first. Theoretical frequency response analyses were then carried out on the mechanical part of the gyroscope. Equations representing the relationships between the differential output signal and the frequency of the input angular rate were deduced in full frequency range and further simplified in low frequency range. Based on these equations, bandwidth characteristics under ideal and non-ideal conditions are discussed. Analytical results show that under ideal conditions, the bandwidth characteristics of a tuning fork micro-gyroscope are similar to those of a single mass micro-gyroscope, but under non-ideal conditions, especially when sense mass and/or stiffness are asymmetric, the bandwidth characteristics would be quite different because the in-phase mode would participate in the anti-phase vibration response. Experimental verifications were carried out on two micro-gyroscope prototypes designed in our laboratory. The deduced equations and analytical results can be used in guiding the mechanical bandwidth design of tuning fork micro-gyroscopes with mechanically coupled sense mode.

This paper focuses on the detailed design issues of a peculiar quadrature reduction method named system stiffness matrix diagonalization, whose key technology is the design and application of quadrature compensation patterns. For bulk silicon micro-gyroscopes, a complete design and application case was presented. The compensation principle was described first. In the mechanical design, four types of basic structure units were presented to obtain the basic compensation function. A novel layout design was proposed to eliminate the additional disturbing static forces and torques. Parameter optimization was carried out to maximize the available compensation capability in a limited layout area. Two types of voltage loading methods were presented. Their influences on the sense mode dynamics were analyzed. The proposed design was applied on a dual-mass silicon micro-gyroscope developed in our laboratory. The theoretical compensation capability of a quadrature equivalent angular rate no more than 412 °/s was designed. In experiments, an actual quadrature equivalent angular rate of 357 °/s was compensated successfully. The actual compensation voltages were a little larger than the theoretical ones. The correctness of the design and the theoretical analyses was verified. They can be commonly used in planar linear vibratory silicon micro-gyroscopes for quadrature compensation purpose.

This paper presents a study of the frequency response and the scale-factor of a tuning fork micro-gyroscope operating at atmospheric pressure in the presence of an interference sense mode by utilizing the approximate transfer function. The optimal demodulation phase (ODP), which is always ignored in vacuum packaged micro-gyroscopes but quite important in gyroscopes operating at atmospheric pressure, is obtained through the transfer function of the sense mode, including the primary mode and the interference mode. The approximate transfer function of the micro-gyroscope is deduced in consideration of the interference mode and the ODP. Then, the equation describing the scale-factor of the gyroscope is also obtained. The impacts of the interference mode and Q-factor on the frequency response and the scale-factor of the gyroscope are analyzed through numerical simulations. The relationship between the scale-factor and the demodulation phase is also illustrated and gives an effective way to find out the ODP in practice. The simulation results predicted by the transfer functions are in close agreement with the results of the experiments. The analyses and simulations can provide constructive guidance on bandwidth and sensitivity designs of the micro-gyroscopes operating at atmospheric pressure.