Closed-Loop Characterization of Noise and Stability in a Mode-Localized Resonant MEMS Sensor

Pandit, Milind; Zhao, Chun; Sobreviela, Guillermo; Mustafazade, Arif; Du, Sijun; Zou, Xudong; Seshia, Ashwin A.

doi:10.1109/tuffc.2018.2878241

Cited by 32 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…This restatement of the classical result [11] that coupling noisy resonators may at most yield a √ improvement in signal-to-noise ratio was experimentally verified on a PM MILO in [12]. Even though, a large parametric sensitivity is very interesting for resonators that are limited by measurement noise rather than by intrinsic noise sources [13]. Another item of interest is the performance of WCRs in the nonlinear oscillation regime, to which this paper is dedicated.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 56%

“…This may explain the results in[13][14][15] for example, where the high Q of the resonators leads to very little thermomechanical noise and dominant measurement noise. Conversely, the low-Q fully-integrated CMOS-MEMS MILO presented in[4] is thermomechanically-limited[12].…”

mentioning

confidence: 90%

“…This generic formulation is well-suited for parametric sensitivity, noise sensitivity and bandwidth analysis of resonant sensors based on WCRs. For example, it may readily be used as the basis of a simulation tool for deriving numerical values of such quantities, for many self-oscillating systems based on WCRs, such as MILOs or the MOLOs discussed in [13][14][15]. However, such numerical results, lacking in physical insight, do not make the properties of WCRs much easier to grasp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nonlinear Operation of Resonant Sensors Based On Weakly Coupled Resonators: Theory and Modeling

Jerome

Mostafa

Ferreira

2019

IEEE Trans. Ultrason., Ferroelect., Freq. Contr.

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This theoretical work investigates the properties of nonlinearlyoperated weakly-coupled resonators (WCRs) for resonant sensing applications. We propose an analysis framework for mutually injection-locked oscillators (MILOs) and mode-localized oscillators (MOLOs), subject to nonlinear restoring and damping forces. Under some simplifying assumptions, three sensor architectures are investigated and compared, highlighting several common features such as: (i) the insensitivity of the amplitude ratio output metric to the Af effect, (ii) the instability of one oscillation state above a threshold amplitude. These results are illustrated and validated using transient simulations. Their range of validity is then discussed with respect to finite perturbations, finite bandwidth, measurement noise and nonlinear dissipation-fluctuation. While nonlinear operation of WCRs has been experimentally investigated in [9, 14-15], and nonlinear coupling of FM resonant sensors or oscillators was covered in [16], there is little theoretical background against which experimental results obtained with nonlinear WCRs can be tested. Our own work on this subject [9, 17] has highlighted that some MILOs may benefit from nonlinear operation. In particular, the increase of the measurement range of MILOs, with a trade-off in sensitivity, was theoretically and experimentally proven in [9]. Most interestingly, the analysis in [17] showed the resolution of a MILO based on two similar Duffing resonators may not be limited by the A-f effect [18] provided amplitude-ratio was used as an output metric instead of phasedifference. To this day, no similar study has been performed on MOLOs. Furthermore, the results in [17] are limited to a narrow framework: a specific MILO architecture, only nonlinear restoring forces and quasi-static perturbations being considered. With this paper, we establish the fundamental limitations of WCRs in the nonlinear regime, aiming at a general, qualitative description of their behavior, rather than at particular results. The analysis of WCRs presented in section II may be used for MILOs or MOLOs; it is slightly simplified compared to the one in [17], but is more general in the sense that it captures dynamic system fluctuations (i.e. finite sensor bandwidth). Furthermore, it is not only valid for resonators with nonlinear restoring forces (e.g stress-stiffening, or electrostatic softening [19]), but also with nonlinear damping forces. Nonlinear damping is ubiquitous in MEMS sensors: for instance, it may result from the squeezed-film phenomenon [20], from anchor loss [21], or from coupling to an undesired vibration mode [22]. A global outlook on the nonlinear properties of WCRs with quadratic stiffness and damping coefficients is derived in sections III and IV. In section III, three WCR architectures are investigated, and their properties are established with further simplifying assumptions. We find that the insensitivity of AM WCRs to the A-f effect holds in all the studied cases. In section IV, these results are illustrated and ...

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 56%

mentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Nonlinear Operation of Resonant Sensors Based On Weakly Coupled Resonators: Theory and Modeling

Jerome

Mostafa

Ferreira

2019

IEEE Trans. Ultrason., Ferroelect., Freq. Contr.

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“…Though there are potential disadvantages associated with the amplitude readout, the enhanced sensitivity based on amplitude ratio readout would enable these sensors to achieve improved input-referred stability. Particularly, for long term PM measurements, the amplitude noise can be reduced by assuming white noise characteristics [32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weakly Coupled Piezoelectric MEMS Resonators for Aerosol Sensing

Chellasivalingam

Imran

Pandit

et al. 2020

Sensors

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This paper successfully demonstrates the potential of weakly coupled piezoelectric MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) gravimetric sensors for the detection of ultra-fine particulates. As a proof-of-principle, the detection of diesel soot particles of 100 nanometres or less is demonstrated. A practical monitoring context also exists for diesel soot particles originating from combustion engines, as they are of serious health concern. The MEMS sensors employed in this work operate on the principle of vibration mode-localisation employing an amplitude ratio shift output metric for readout. Notably, gains are observed while comparing parametric sensitivities and the input referred stability for amplitude ratio and resonant frequency variations, demonstrating that the amplitude ratio output metric is particularly suitable for long-term measurements. The soot particle mass directly estimated using coupled MEMS resonators can be correlated to the mass, indirectly estimated using the condensation particle counter used as the reference instrument.

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“…Existing WCR accelerometers have not yet demonstrated a noise floor better than the conventional resonant MEMS accelerometers, since amplitude readout methods tend to have a lower resolution compared to frequency readout methods. However, WCR accelerometers exhibit better bias stability due to their common mode rejection properties (e.g., for temperature fluctuations) [117]. Moreover, the aforementioned recent work considerably improved the understanding of various fundamental drift and noise mechanisms affecting the resolution.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Micromachined Accelerometers with Sub-µg/√Hz Noise Floor: A Review

Wang

Chen

Wang

et al. 2020

Sensors

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This paper reviews the research and development of micromachined accelerometers with a noise floor lower than 1 µg/√Hz. Firstly, the basic working principle of micromachined accelerometers is introduced. Then, different methods of reducing the noise floor of micromachined accelerometers are analyzed. Different types of micromachined accelerometers with a noise floor below 1 µg/√Hz are discussed. Such sensors can mainly be categorized into: (i) micromachined accelerometers with a low spring constant; (ii) with a large proof mass; (iii) with a high quality factor; (iv) with a low noise interface circuit; (v) with sensing schemes leading to a high scale factor. Finally, the characteristics of various micromachined accelerometers and their trends are discussed and investigated.

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Closed-Loop Characterization of Noise and Stability in a Mode-Localized Resonant MEMS Sensor

Cited by 32 publications

References 37 publications

Nonlinear Operation of Resonant Sensors Based On Weakly Coupled Resonators: Theory and Modeling

Nonlinear Operation of Resonant Sensors Based On Weakly Coupled Resonators: Theory and Modeling

Weakly Coupled Piezoelectric MEMS Resonators for Aerosol Sensing

Micromachined Accelerometers with Sub-µg/√Hz Noise Floor: A Review

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